THE  LIBRARIES 


Bequest  of 

Frederic  Bancroft 

1860-1945 


SoGocJ.ISHMIM'C-iS 


KECOLLECTIONS  OF  USEFUL  PERSONS 


-AND- 


IMPORTANT  EVENTS, 

WITHIN  SEVENTY  YEARS, 

WITH  APPENDICES, 

By   S.  C.  JEI^JflNGS,  D.D., 


OF    THE- 


PRESBYTERY   OF   PITTSBURGH. 


"The  righteous  shall  be  in  everlasting  remembrance."     Ps.,  cxii.  6. 
"We  shall  not  hide  them  from  their  children."     Ps.,  lxxyiii.  4. 


FOR   SALE    BY 

W.  W.  Waters,  Presbyteeian  Book  Store,  Pittsburgh. 


J.    DILLOX    60  -JiO^^  ,STii:AM  :PD^:ER    '^ElMTERS. 


D  (  ^'^n 


C^ 


TO  THE  READER. 


The  following  pages,  containing  recollections  of  useful 
persons  and  important  events,  are  prepared  at  the  request 
of  several  valued  brethren.  As  the  writer  has  been  per- 
mitted to  live  longer  than  most  of  his  generation,  and  to 
have  an  extended  acquaintance,  it  has  been  thought  that 
he  could  make  a  necessary  record  of  persons  and  things 
which  might  not  otherwise  be  transmitted  to  coming  gen- 
erations. 

So  far  as  they  are  here  given,  they  are  such  as  have  a 
religious  tendency.  Here  secular  events  are  passed  to  no- 
tice what  is  useful,  as  the  teachings  of  good  men  who  have 
finished  their  course  on  earth. 

As  it  was  impossible  to  give  them  exactly  as  they  oc- 
curred, chronological  order  has  not  been  followed.  Not 
all  persons  have  been  noticed  who  have  been  equally  ex- 
emplary. The  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  appointed  the  present 
writer  to  take  the  place  of  the  author  of  "  Old  Redstone," 
and  receive  facts  from  the  surviving  friends  of  deceased 
elders,  to  be  put  into  brief  memorials.  Notice  was  given  in 
the  Banner,  and  so  far  as  they  have  been  given  they  will 
be  found  in  my  notices  in  the  "  Centenary  Memorial,"  or 
in  these  "  Recollections."  I  hope  there  will  be  others*  to 
incur  the  expense  of  publishing  what  should  be  of  good 
men  and  women,  who  could  not  in  this  volume  be  men- 
tioned. I  did  not  know  them  sufficiently  to  write  a  brief 
remembrance.     In  no  case  is  a  full  history  intended.     I 


TO    THE    READER. 

trust,  however,  that  those  given  will  be  gratifying  and 
useful  to  those  who  have  heard  of  or  seen  the  persons  men- 
tioned ;  and  that  being  dead  they  may  yet  speak  through 
the  following  pages,  to  the  glory  of  God. 

Worthy  brethren  have  suggested  that  I  should  incorpo- 
rate something  of  my  own  life.  To  this  I  felt  reluctant ; 
but  I  have  made  an  Appendix ;  for  therein  I  can  most 
conveniently  speak  of  what  others  did,  in  connection  with 
what  the  Providence  and  Spirit  of  God  has  done  for  me, 
and  by  my  instrumentality. 

The  names  of  numerous  persons  are  stated  ;  but  the 
Index  at  the  end  will  point  to  the  pages  where  they  are 
specially  mentioned,  along  with  some  characteristics  or 
facts.  The  author  submits  the  Recollections,  under  in- 
firmities, to  the  perusal  of  a  Christian  people. 

XoTE.— The  likeness  is  not  of  his  devising. 


co]srTE]srTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

TheWarof  1812— Men  and  Women's  Toil— Trials 
in  Worship — Driving  Slaves  —  The  Aged,  Dis- 
eased and  Dying 5 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  Sixty-five  Years  Ago — 

None  Remain 10 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Synod  of  1829— The  Special  Business—"  Your 

Fathers,  Where  are  They  ?" 14 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Synod  of  Ohio  in  1830— The  History  of  the 
Synod^Opening  of  the  Synod  at  Zanesville — 
The  Remnant 18 

CHAPTER  V. 

Ministers  and  Their  Work — Preaching  to  Promote 
Revivals — The  Subjects  of  Preaching — Dr.  ]\Ic- 
Millan  on  Inability 23 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Work  of  the  Lord  in  the  Eary  Part  of  the  Cen- 
tury— The  Hindrances — The  Means  Used — Pri- 
vate Prayer — The  Ministers'  Labors — Persons 
Received  as  Members— Declension 29 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  State  of  the  Church  from  1821  to  1828— From 

1828  to  1832— Female  Influence  at  this  Period...         36 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Missionary  Reminiscences — Efforts  Among  the  In- 
dians—  In  Africa  —  In  India  —  In  China — In 
Japan 41 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Religious  Papers  Up  to  1833 50 

CHAPTER  X. 

Recollections  of  Books  and  Tracts — The  Synod  Re- 
solves to  Secure  Tracts — In  What  Way  They 
Were  Used — Those  Adapted  to  Cure  Infidelity — 
By  the  Presbyterian  Board — By  the  American 
Tract  Society — Books  by  Able  Writers 55 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Mode  of  Worship — Not  Itching  Ears — Not  Irrever- 
ence for  God  and  His  Worship — Insubordination.         60 

CHAPTER  XIL 

History  of  Temperance  Legislation — In  England — 
In  the  Time  of  William  Penn — Licensing  and 
Drinking  in  the  Eighteenth  Century — In  the 
Nineteenth — How  the  Act  of  1846  was  Approved 
and  Repealed — How  the  Local  Option  Law  was 
Carried  and  Repealed — Great  Mistakes 63 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Short  Reminiscences  of  Ministers  and  Elders  at  or 

near  Washington,  Pa.  [See  Index.] 71 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


Recollections  of  Deceased  Ministers  :  Francis  Her- 
ron,  D.D.,  Elisha  P.  Swift,  D.D.,  Aaron  Williams, 
D.D.,  Henry  G.  Comingo,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Robert 
Duulap,  W.  D.  Howard,  D.D.,  M.  W.  Jacobus, 
D.D.,  Rev.  Isaac  M.  Cook,  Rev.  Robert  Carothers, 
Rev.  Jonathan  Cross 78 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Recollections  of  Deceased  Ministers,  Continued : 
AYilliam  Smith,  D.D.,  Rev.  S.  M.  Henderson, 
David  McKinney,  D.D.,  James  Alexander,  D.D., 
John  W.  Scott,  D.D.,  Lewis  W.  Green,  D.D., 
John  Stockton,  D.D.,  Rev.  J.  K.  Cunningham, 
George  Marshall,  D.D.,  Rev.  Adam  Torrance, 
Rev.  Thomas  Stevenson 84 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Ministers  Who  Died  at  Philadelphia :  Dr.  Ashbel 
Green,  Dr.  James  P.  Wilson,  Dr.  C.  C.  Cuyler, 
Dr.  E.  S.  Ely,  Rev.  W.  L.  McCalla,  Dr.  T.  H. 
Skinner,  Dr.  W.  Neill,  Rev.  James  Patterson, 
Rev.  W.  Ramsey,  J.  M.  Dickey,  D.D. — Ashmun 
Institute,  Lincoln  University 95 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Former  Professors  at  Princeton  :  Dr.  A.  Alexander, 
Dr.  Miller,  Prof.  Hodge,  J.  W.  Xevin,  Dr.  R. 
Baird,  Dr.  Carnahan — Tombs  at  Princeton 99 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Transient  Reminiscences:  Moses  Hampton.  The 
Halsey  Family,  L.  Halsey,  Dr.  L.  Halsey,  Dr.  J. 
F.  Halsey,  R.  Beer,  F.  G.  Bailey,  AV.  Dickson, 
John  Potter,  J.  Wilson 102 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Useful  Persons  and  Important  Events  in  Other 
Branches  of  the  Church — Associate,  Associate  Ke- 
formed,  United  Presbyterian,  Reformed  Presby- 
terian— The  Rise  of  Campbellism — Need  of  the 
Baptism  of  the  Spirit 108 

APPENDICES. 

Containing  a  notice  of  the  author's  parentage,  edu- 
cation, &c.,  with  a  statement  of  instructive  inci- 
dents in  the  lives  of  some  departed  Christians. 

Dr.  "Wm.  McMillan-Dr.  John  McMillan's  Public 
Services— The  Writer  a  Teacher  at  Cleveland —  , 
The  State  of  Things  There  in  1823— Rev.  S.  I. 
Bradstreet — The  Writer  at  Princeton— Returns 
to  the  West— Rev.  J.  C.  Crane— Visit  to  Berk- 
shire County — Cruelty  Causes  a  Colored  Man  to 
Know  Jesus — Peter  J.  Gulick— Licensed  Febru- 
ary, 1827™ Work  in  Ohio— Revival  at  Washing- 
ton—  Students  Converted  —  Pious  Women — Be- 
comes Editor  of  the  Christian  Herald — Becomes 
Pastor— Many  Preaching  Places— Churches  Or- 
ganized—Dismission of  Pastorate  of  Fifty  Years 
—Addresses  by  Rev.  Drs.  Wilson,  Lea,  Passa- 
vant,  and  Judge  Kirkpatrick-— Other  Facts — 
Organization  of  Riverdale  Church— The  Au- 
thor's Visit  to  Princeton,  and  to  the  Graves  of 
ancestry— Conclusion,  to  Friends 117 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS, 


CHAPTER  I. 


The  War  of  1812— Men  and  Women's  Toil— Trials 
IN  Worship — Driving  Slaves — The  Aged,  Dis- 
eased, AND  Dying. 

HEN  a  little,  grey-headed  mau,  that  carried  the 
Genius  of  Liberty  from  house  to  house,  in  Fayette 
county,  handed  it  to  my  grandfather,  he  opened  it 
and  sighed,  for  it  announced  the  declaration  of  war.  He 
had  been  a  captain  and  surgeon  in  the  revolutionary  strug- 
gle, and  now,  as  an  aged  minister,  still  bore  marks  of 
wounds,  and  knew  something  of  the  approaching  trouble. 
The  fears  of  some  were  awakened,  and  the  courage  of  oth- 
ers aroused  to  resist  intrusion  upon  "  free  trade  and  sailors' 
rights."  Indians  w^ere  to  be  the  allies  of  our  foes,  and  the 
dread  of  their  cruelties  on  the  frontiers,  which  were  then 
chiefly  in  Ohio  and  Michigan  Territory,  led  some  to  shun 
a  defensive  war  against  them.  To  take  Canada  was  the 
object  of  our  aggressive  heroes.  Soldiers  leaving  home  for 
the  conflict  brought  tears  from  many  a  mother  and  wife. 
And  it  was  to  them  a  day  of  darkness;  and  delay ;  for  our 
army  went  into  winter  quarters  where  Mansfield,  Ohio,  is 
now.  There  were  afterwards  victories  which  caused  illu- 
minations of  the  dwellings,  and  yet  for  three  years  there 
were  seasons  of  discouragement,  such  as  that  of  "Hull's 
surrender."  And  I  remember  seeing  parents  mourning 
1*  5 


6        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

over  the  fragmentary  memorials  of  their  slain  sons.  But 
the  loss  of  friends  in  actual  war  was  not  the  only  grief  of 
Christians  for  there  was  an  increase  in  drinking  liquors, 
and  consequently  an  increase  of  all  its  dreadful  results. 

TOIL. 

The  culture  of  the  earth  was  more  of  a  trial  than  at  a 
later  period.  Besides  the  clearing  of  the  surface,  more  of 
the  "  sweat  of  the  brow  "  was  experienced  in  tilling  it  with- 
out the  help  of  such  agricultural  implements  as  have  come 
into  use.  The  sound  of  the  threshing  flail  was  heard  in 
the  barns  the  winter  through,  and  remuneration  for  grain 
was  commonly  inadequate.  The  good  women,  too,  had 
their  toils  in  bringing  the  flax  into  a  state  ready  for  gar- 
ments. Cotton  was  not  much  raised  in  the  South,  nor  was 
the  separating  gin  invented.  The  instrument  of  music 
which  they  used  was  the  wheel  adorned  with  flax,  or  the 
"  big  wheel  "  with  which  they  drew  out  the  rolls  of  wool 
into  thread,  traversing  the  floor,  singing  as  they  went. 
They  had  not  the  trial  of  riding  rapidly  and  making  many 
turns  to  keep  up  with  modern  fashion.  They  rather  fol- 
lowed the  advice  of  Paul  and  Peter  in  regard  to  their  ap- 
parel. Nor  did  they  have  to  follow  so  "  many  inventions" 
in  gratifying  the  palate  and  laying  the  foundation  for  dis- 
ease. Nor  were  they  so  much  tried  with  servants,  for  they 
served  themselves  very  generally.  Except  in  cases  of  ex- 
cess of  toil,  or  of  premonitory  symptoms  of  disease,  or 
where  there  was  an  inheritance  of  it,  they  were  "  ready  for 
every  good  work." 

TRIALS   IN   WORSHIP. 

Opportunities  for  usefulness  were  not  then  so  frequent  as 
now,  nor  the  means  so  abundant,  and  the  contributions  to 
objects  of  benevolence  were  not  so  large.  The  house  of 
God  was  frequented  more  regularly,  and  the  difficulties  of 
travel  in  the  country  wonderfully  surmounted.     Some  of 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.       7 

all  ages,  and  both  sexes,  went  through  mud  or  snow,  and 
some  true  ladies  rode  on  the  same  horse  with  husbands  or 
brothers.  When  assembled  at  the  places  of  worship,  the 
feelings  of  the  pious  were  not  often  wounded  by  witnessing 
the  levity  of  choristers  nor  by  hearing  the  jovial  remarks 
of  persons  around  the  church  or  on  the  way  home.  During 
times  of  revival  especially.  Christians  "  spake  often  one  to 
another,"  or  counseled  inquirers  as  to  the  way  of  salvation. 
There  was  not  much  evidence  that  the  place  was  visited  for 
show  or  entertainment,  but  to  be  profited,  and  to  know  the 
God  of  all  the  earth. 

SLAVES. 

Christians  were  liable  on  the  Lord's  day  to  have  their 
sympathies  moved  in  behalf  of  gangs  of  slaves  driven  on 
the  National  road  through  Fayette  and  Washington  coun- 
ties. I  have  seen,  at  different  times,  the  male  slaves  chained 
two  together  from  their  wrists,  and  the  females  walking 
behind,  in  a  hurried  manner,  with  a  master  before  with 
holsters  and  pistols,  and  one  behind  armed  in  the  same 
way.  Though  some  were  instructed  to  sing  as  they  went 
through  towns,  still,  notwithstanding  the  pro-slavery  senti- 
ment then  prevalent,  the  indignation  of  the  people  was 
stirred  at  the  persons  driving  them  as  cattle  to  a  market. 
This  was  one  of  the  peculiar  trials  that  unexpectedly  oc- 
curred any  day,  now  to  be  experienced  no  more. 

THE    AGED,    DISEASED,    AND    DYING. 

Lamentably  there  appears  to  be  an  increase  of  persons 
who  believe  that  Christian  parents  were  not  sustained  by 
the  gospel ;  that  exercising  liberal  thought,  sometimes 
called  "advanced  thought,"  often  but  another  name  for  in- 
fidelity, is  just  as  advantageous  as  Christianity.  Having 
been  permitted  to  reside  in  different  parts  of  Eastern  Ohio 
and  Western  Pennsylvania  during  my  long  life,  and  to  know 
something  of  the  end  of  some  skeptics,  and  of  many  true 


8        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

believers,  by  conversing  with  the  latter,  and  by  receiving 
memorials  of  them  when  an  editor,  I  am  anxious  to  bear 
some  testimony  for  the  benefit  of  the  doubting. 

The  most  that  can  be  said  about  those  who  have  died 
unbelievers  in  the  Bible,  is  that  their  happiness  was  nega- 
tive— really  indifference  and  unconcern  about  a  future 
state,  just  what  might  be  expected  of  those  "  given  up  to 
delusion"  through  the  perverseness  and  enmity  of  the 
heart.  Some  such  may  be  justly  left  to  be  carried  by  the 
chariot  of  time  in  darkness  to  eternity.  A  few  were 
aroused  when  it  was  "  too  late."  How  different  were  the 
departures  from  earth  of  many  aged  persons,  whose  souls, 
filled  with  light  and  love,  spake  in  my  presence  the  words 
of  triumph  or  resignation !  True  there  have  been  those 
whose  lives  have  been  a  constant  proof  of  the  truth  of 
God's  word,  who  were  so  afflicted  in  the  end  that  their 
bodies  intercepted  the  clear  exercise  of  their  minds.  To 
such  lives  we  appeal  for  the  testimony  of  the  truth,  and 
not  to  all  professors  of  religion,  through  whom  the  words 
of  the  Saviors'  prediction  are  still  being  fulfilled,  that  "  of- 
fences will  come,"  who  neither  in  life  nor  death  bear  gen- 
uine testimony  to  the  truth  of  religion.  Let  them  be  for- 
gotten. 

Leaving  out  of  view  other  persons  visited,  the  writer  has 
conversed,  during  the  last  fifty-five  years,  with  about  one 
hundred  in  different  stages  of  pulmonary  affection.  Some, 
apparently  through  the  deceptive  nature  of  the  disease,  still 
hoping  for  recovery,  did  not  turn  to  the  Saviour  to  obtain 
mercy ;  others  were  hopefully  brought  to  true  repentance 
before  death  ;  and  some,  who  had  been  Christians  before 
becoming  diseased,  gave  the  highest  and  most  reliable  evi- 
dence of  going  to  be  with  Christ.  With  emaciated  frames 
and  hectic  flush  upon  the  cheeks,  and  sparkling  eyes,  they 
evinced,  notwithstanding,  by  their  expressions,  the  glorious 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.       9 

hope  of  immortality,  and  only  wished  that  God  might  be 
glorified  by  them  in  life,  if  it  should  be  continued. 

Within  the  bounds  of  my  pastoral  charge  eight  persons 
died  with  cancerous  affections  ;  three  of  them  were  internal 
and  could  not  be  much  alleviated  by  opiates.  During  the 
dreadful  tortures  to  which  they  were  subjected,  in  the  prov- 
idence of  God,  they  wonderfully  exhibited  the  power  of 
divine  grace  to  sustain.  One  of  the  others  was  unable  to 
swallow  through  the  mouth,  and  subject  to  dreadful  effu- 
sions of  blood,  which  were  connected  with .  temporary  con- 
tortions of  the  countenance  ;  and  yet,  when  they  subsided, 
with  calmness,  unable  to  speak,  he  could  point  heaven- 
ward, indicating  his  expectation  of  rest  there. 


CHAPTER  11. 

Synod  of  Pittsburgh  Sixty-five  Years  Ago — None 
Remain. 

SOME  reminiscences  of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  as  it 
was  in  181^,  and  some  of  its  members.      Then  in  my 
sixteenth  year,  my  personal  knowledge  was  not  as 
great  as  in  subsequent  times. 

The  Synod  met  on  the  5th  of  October,  in  the  good  old 
town  of  Washington,  Pa.,  in  the  old  brick  church.  There, 
something  more  than  one-half  of  the  whole  members  assem- 
bled, some  from  a  distance,  in  the  rear  of  the  church,  with 
overcoats,  leggings  and  saddle-bags,  until  they  would  be 
assigned  places  of  entertainment.  The  sermon  was  from 
Hebrews  xiii.  17  :  "  Obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over 
you,"  &c.,  by  the  last  Moderator,  Rev.  Samuel  Tait,  a 
godly  man,  fraternal  and  paternal.  To  me  he*  was  the 
latter,  and  told  me  that  he  was  the  classmate  of  my  father. 
Rev.  John  Seward,  from  Aurora,  in  the  Portage  Presby- 
tery, was  elected  Moderator,  a  most  excellent  man  of  low 
stature,  but  a  rising  light  to  the  whole  of  the  Western  Re- 
serve. When  he  preached  for  me  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Assembly  of  1836,  he  was  grieved  at  the  prospect  of  a  divi- 
sion of  the  Church,  and  when  his  Synod  was  exscinded  the 
next  year,  still  more  did  he  and  other  good  men  who  had 
become  Presbyterian  ministers  regret  that  the  "  Plan  of 
Union  was  disregarded.  Rev.  Thomas  Hoge,  who  was 
chosen  Clerk  ten  years  after,  was  now  also  chosen. 

Rev.  Wm.  Wylie  was  made  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
10 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.       I  I 

on  Bills  and  Overtures.  He  was  tall,  grave  and  pathetic 
in  preaching.  He  was  often  full  of  fervor  and  tears  in  ad- 
dressing the  people  at  the  Lord's  Supper.  He  apparently- 
had  the  unction  so  much  needed.  William  Courtney,  an 
elder,  then  from  the  Presbytery  of  Redstone,  was  on  the 
same  committee.  For  everything  that  makes  a  man  good, 
he  excelled.  He  was  much  beloved,  and  brought  forth 
"fruit  in  old  age."  When  we  had  extra  services  during  a 
time  of  revival  on  Long  Island,  he  crossed  the  Ohio  river 
in  the  night,  from  time  to  time,  to  take  charge  of  a  prayer- 
meeting.  Rev.  Thomas  Barr,  minister  at  Euclid,  in  the 
Portage  Presbytery,  was  on  the  same  committee.  He  was 
ruddy  from  hard  work  in  his  Master's  service  amongst  the 
destitute  places  on  the  Reserve,  and  afterwards  at  Wooster 
and  Apple  Creek.  He  left  a  son  after  him  to  enter  the 
ministry,  Thomas  H.  Barr,  D.D.,  who  died,  after  great 
usefulness,  November,  1877,  in  the  bounds  of  the  Wooster 
Presbytery. 

Another  member  from  the  Presbytery  of  Portage  was 
present,  Rev.  Joseph  Treat,  one  also  much  beloved  in  the 
region  where  he  preached,  characterized  by  mildness  and 
yet  faithfulness.  When  I  resided  in  Cleveland  in  1823, 
where  there  was  no  church  building  and  no  organization, 
he  came  to  preach  and  took  for  his  text,  "  Every  plant 
which  my  heavenly  Father  hath  not  planted  shall  be 
rooted  up."  Describing  as  a  spiritual  botanist  the  plants, 
he  presented  the  Universalist  plant  as  one  not  planted,  at 
which  statement  one  of  that  people,  who  were  numerous, 
contradicted  him  before  the  assembly  in  the  school  room. 
The  old  father  very  mildly  asked,  "Are  you  done,  sir?"  and 
then  proceeded  with  his  discourse. 

During  the  sessions  of  this  Synod  Dr.  Herron  preached 
the  missionary  sermon  from  Ps.  Ixvii.  2,  "  That  thy  way 
may  be  known  upon  earth,  thy  saving  health  amoflg  all 


I  2       RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

nations."  This  appointment  to  preach  gave  him  opportu- 
nity to  press  his  favorite  object,  the  increase  of  what  he  so 
often  called  the  gospel  ministry.  This  object  led  him  to 
urge  so  ardently  the  location  of  a  Theological  Seminary, 
and  then  to  labor  so  perseveriugly  for  the  welfare  of  our 
great  and  good  institution  in  Allegheny  City. 

At  this  meeting  of  Synod  provision  was  made  to  divide 
the  Presbytery  of  Ohio  into  three  parts,  viz :  besides  it, 
Washington  and  Steubenville.  The  other  Presbyteries 
were  Redstone,  Erie,  Hartford,  Grand  River  and  Portage. 
He  who  was  now  the  youngest  member  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Ohio  was  made  Moderator  of  the  Synod  in  1821  and 
1826.  He  was  Obadiah  Jennings,  who  had  been  a  lawyer 
six  years  at  Steubenville,  and  six  years  in  the  same  profes- 
sion at  Washington,  and  now  three  years  a  pastor  at  Steu- 
benville. As  yet  Dr.  Swift,  and  Dr.  Wm.  Smith,  and  Dr. 
Jeffery,  and  Dr.  McKinney,  and  Dr.  Beatty,  and  good  Mr. 
Coulter  and  others,  had  not  become  members. 

Many  others  were  members,  whom  I  knew  as  Fathers. 
Lyman  Potter,  who  preached  from  house  to  house  in  old 
age,  and  distributed  Bibles  and  tracts  ;  Thomas  Marquis, 
the  pastor  of  my  childhood,  bland  and  eloquent ;  William 
Speer,  learned,  dignified  and  sedate.  Others  were  present: 
Joseph  Stockton,  Timothy  Alden,  both  literary  as  instruct- 
ors, and  Robert  Patterson,  courteous  and  pious  ;  Moses 
Allen,  the  logician ;  Michael  Law,  the  good  pastor  and 
catechiser  ;  Cephas  Dod,  who,  with  the  spirit  of  Jesus,  min- 
istered to  the  diseases  of  the  body  and  soul  ;  JohnMunson, 
who  with  a  sunburnt  face  and  noble  heart,  like  some  others 
could  say,  these  '*  hands  have  ministered  to  my  necessities" 
and  those  of  my  household.  All  these  were  there.  Reid 
Bracken  and  Abraham  Boyd  were  there,  plain,  excellent, 
godly  ministers.  Others,  too,  perhaps  equally  good,  were 
not  present.     I  have  only  mentioned  those  of  whom  I  had 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  3 

some  knowledge.  They  were  pious  meo,  without  levity. 
Of  the  sixty-six  ministers  and  elders  that  were  present,  and 
of  the  forty  ministers  that  were  absent,  I  do  not  think  that 
one  remains  upon  earth.  How  instructive  to  us  who  have 
taken  their  places  to  work  while  it  is  day,  for  the  "night 
Cometh  when  no  man  can  work."  The  departed  Synod 
met  at  sunrise  for  praise  and  prayer.  Ours  should  be  more 
devotional. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Synod  of  1829 — The  Special  Business — Your  Fath- 
ers, Where  are  They? 

F  our  youDg  ministers  and  others  will  in  spirit  come 
with  me  to  the  lecture-room  of  the  First  Presbyterian 

church,  in  Pittsburgh,  we  will  look   in.     There  are  the 

members  assembled  on  the  15th  of  October,  1829.  They 
look  fatigued.  They  have  not  come  in  the  cars.  Some 
few  have  arrived  in  stages  or  in  steamboats.  But  the  most 
have  traveled  on  horseback.  Some  from  up  the  Allegheny ; 
others  from  near  Lake  Erie;  and  others  from  eastern  Ohio. 
There  are  none  from  the  Western  Reserve.  It  has  a  Synod. 
I  will  tell  you  something  of  those  I  knew  best,  without 
giving  titles.  They  have  elected  James  Graham,  Modera- 
tor, a  man  of  acute  mind  and  skilled  in  debate.  The  Clerk 
is  Thomas  Hoge,  a  good  penman,  who  understands  his 
office.  There  sits  near  the  Moderator,  Dr.  John  McMillan, 
robust,  with  rather  a  swarthy  face,  heavy  eye-brows,  his 
hair  not  entirely  white.  He  holds  his  hickoiy  stalf,  takes 
but  little  part  in  the  common  business  ;  but  when  there  is 
a  departure  from  the  old  rules,  he  speaks  of  it  with  a  sigh. 
His  aid  is  sought  in  religious  services,  and  he  is  treated  as 
a  father.  Then,  on  the  other  side,  is  Rev.  Joseph  Patter- 
son, more  stooped,  his  full  eyes  look  upon  you  benevolently, 
and  his  smile  is  that  of  a  Christian  man  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  He  says  nothing  as  a  member,  but  leans  upon  the 
top  of  his  staff.  Not  far  off  is  Dr.  Herron,  large,  portly 
and  commanding  in  his   appearance,  and  full  of  business. 

14 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  5 

Robert  Johnston  is  Chairman  of  the  Judicial  Committee. 
He  speaks  "  as  one  having  authority,"  and  without  fear. 
Thomas  D.  Baird  is  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Bills 
and  Overtures.  He  is  blunt  in  speech,  and  guards  against 
the  introduction  of  innovations.  He  and  Dr.  Ralston  are 
from  the  same  country,  and  have  no  partiality  for  New 
England  usages. 

There  is  another,  who  is  mostly  in  the  rear  of  the  room. 
It  is  Dr.  Swift.  Serious,  thoughtful,  meditating  means  to 
promote  the  "  Western  Missionary  Society."  He  is  ap- 
pointed Chairman  of  the  Committee  to  make  inquiry  into 
the  expediency  of  consolidating  it  with  the  "  Board  of  Mis- 
sions of  the  General  Assembly."  Elisha  Macurdy  is  on  the 
Committee  ;  a  fervent,  grave  man,  measured  in  his  speech, 
who  has  made  the  matter  of  Missions  a  part  of  his  life  work. 
Samuel  Tate,  of  Mercer,  is  on  the  Committee  also — a  pio- 
neer in  the  North,  whom  God  has  greatly  blessed. 

Dr.  John  Anderson  is  a  pastor,  of  a  bright  intellect,  use- 
ful as  an  instructor  in  theology  ;  but  he  is  now  emaciated 
and  coughing.  Rev.  George  M.  Scott,  of  Mill  Creek,  is 
here.  Bland  and  paternal,  he  well  deserves  the  name  of 
father,  for  he  has  been  this  to  many  in  Christ.  William 
Woods  is  here  in  quietude.  He  has  been  eminently  useful 
as  the  pastor  of  Lebanon  and  Bethel  churches  ;  but  he  is 
near  the  close  of  life.  Father  Andrews  is  here,  white- 
headed  and  interested.  He  was  long  useful  as  my  prede- 
cessor in  editing  the  paper  of  which  the  Presbyterian  Ban- 
ner is  the  continuation.  I  can  not  describe  that  tall  min- 
ister, emaciated  from  stomach  disease.  He  was  my  old 
pastor  and  grandfather's  successor ;  his  name  is  William 
Johnston.  Nor  can  I  tell  you  of  aged  ministers,  as  Thomas 
Davis,  Cyrus  Riggs,  Abraham  Boyd,  Thomas  E.  Hughes, 
C  Vallandighara,  Francis  Laird,  Jr.mes  Guthrie  and  Jo- 
seph Anderson.     Their  course  of  usefulness  is  nearly  run. 


I  6     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

and  they  leave  the  business  of  Synod  chiefly  to  younger 
men.  Some  of  the  fathers  in  the  Synod  are  absent  from 
this  meeting,  such  as  Dr.  Power,  by  reason  of  age.  Others 
in  consequence  of  their  great  distance ;  as  Rev.  Johnston 
Eaton,  James  Satterfield  and  Robert  Sample.  My  friend 
and  classmate,  Wells  Bushnell,  of  Meadville,  is  here.  He 
is  an  abolitionist,  but  none  the  worse. 

THE  SPECIAL    BUSINESS. 

Robert  Baird,  a  catechumen  of  my  grandfather,  has  ad- 
dressed the  Synod  in  behalf  of  the  American  Sunday 
School  Union.  He  does  not  know  now  that  he  is  to  cross 
the  Atlantic  eighteen  times  for  the  cause  of  God  and 
"  stand  before  kings."  Rev.  William  McMillan,  a  former 
President  of  Jefferson  College,  and  A.  G.  Fairchild,  a 
clear-headed,  gentlemanly  member,  the  gentle  and  stable 
S.  McFerran,  are  to  report  on  this  subject.  Dr.  Swift,  on 
the  Western  Missionary  Society,  is  to  present  his  report, 
and  it  will  create  an  interest  and  be  of  some  length.  Dr. 
Swift  and  those  excellent  men,  A.  O.  Patterson  and  James 
Hervey,  are  appointed  a  committee  to  report  on  the  sub- 
ject of  education.  "  Saturday  forenoon  is  to  be  spent  in 
special  prayer  to  Almighty  God  for  the  outpouring  of 
his  Spirit.  The  afternoon  is  to  be  spent  iu  connection 
Avith  the  churches  of  the  city."  Lr.  Brown,  the  President 
of  Jefferson  College,  who  is  usually  called  to  lead  in  meas- 
ures pertaining  to  revivals,  is  appointed  to  draft  an  address 
along  with  Dr.  McMillan,  which  is  to  be  read  in  the 
churches  on  the  second  Thursday  of  February,  a  day  of 
fasting,  humiliation  and  prayer,  after  it  has  been  published 
in  the  Christian  Herald. 

As  substantial,  excellent  a  company  of  elders  as  have 
been  found  anywhere  are  members  of  this  Synod.  Person- 
ally I  know  Robert  Baird,  James  Caldwell,  David  Veech, 
James  Power,  Robert  Bailey,  Wm.   Grossman,  Benjamin 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  7 

William?,  John  Hannen,  "Wm.  D.  Hawkins,  Wm.  Hartu- 
pee,  John  Nesbit,  Arthur  Morrow,  Jacob  Slagle,  John 
Duncan  and  Benjamin  Gardner.  The  ministers  are  usu- 
ally tall,  and  many  of  them  far  advanced  in  life.  Few 
there  are  who  are  of  such  low  stature  as  Father  Andrews, 
or  the  orator  Boyd  Mercer,  or  the  deep  theologian,  John 
Rhea,  of  Ohio. 

"your  fathefs,  where  are  they?" 

Not  one  of  the  elders  named  remains,  and  I  think  r,ot 
one  elder  of  the  Synod  of  '29.  Of  the  sixteen  ministers  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Bedstone  who  were  present,  none.  Of  the 
seventeen  members  of  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio  in  attend- 
ance, but  one  lives,  myself  The  venerable  Luther  Halsey 
was  present  at  the  Synod  as  a  corresponding  member,  for 
he  was  on  the  committee  with  Dr.  Swift  and.  myself  on 
doctrinal  tracts.  Of  the  seven  members  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Erie  who  were  present,  none  live ;  and  none  I  think  of 
any  absent  members,  except  Peter  Hassinger,  who  is  spend- 
ing the  evening  of  his  day  of  hard  work  in  Illinois.  Of  the 
seven  members  present  of  the  Presbytery  of  Hartford,  one 
remains,  Wm.  Nesbit,  at  New  Bedford,  after  many  years  of 
labor  and  affliction.  Of  the  ten  members  of  Allegheny,  all 
have  gone,  and  we  hope  exchanged  their  seats  in  earthly 
courts  for  the  shining  seats  in  the  General  Assembly  on 
high.     So  of  Washington  Presbytery. 

Such  are  the  changes  in  the  Church  below.  Tender 
recollections  of  the  departed  have  led  me  to  record  this  con- 
densed memorial  of  men  who  were  grave,  pleasant  and  pious. 


2* 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Synod  of  Ohio  in  1830 — The  History  of  the 
Synod — Opening  of  the  Synod  at  Zanesyille — 
The  Remnant. 

/~|~\he  old  Synod  of  Ohio  was  organized  in  1814,  out  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Lancaster,  which  before  had  been 
a  part  of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  and  out  of  the 
Presbyteries  of  Washington  and  Miami,  which  were  parts 
of  the  Synod  of  Kentucky.  In  1830  it  was  composed  of 
the  Presbyteries  of  Athens,  Columbus,  Lancaster  and 
Richland.  These,  with  the  Synod  of  Miami,  formed  in 
1829,  show  how  greatly  the  churches  had  increased  in  six- 
teen years  on  territory  once  occupied  by  the  old  Synod. 

OPENING    of    the   SYNOD    AT    ZANESVILLE. 

Rev.  James  Hoge,  D.D.,  the  last  Moderator,  opened  the 
Synod  with  a  sermon  on  Matt,  xxviii.  20 — "  Lo,  I  am  with 
you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  In  his  mis- 
sionary itinerancy  through  Ohio,  in  deep  mud  or  on  cordu- 
roy roads,  he  had  experienced  the  fulfillment  of  the  prom- 
ise. Shortly  after  his  licensure  in  1805,  he  was  "appointed 
to  the  State  of  Ohio  and  parts  adjacent  thereto,"  as  his 
commission  stated,  which  he  received  from  the  General 
Assembly.  I  found  him  in  1828,  a  settled  pastor  in  Colum- 
bus, enjoying  the  respect  of  the  people  and  wielding  a  great 
influence  upon  the  Legislature.  He  was  tall  and  straight 
with  black  hair,  grave  and  solemn.  His  voice  'was  pecu- 
liarly impressive,  using  great  accuracy  in  his  speech  with- 
out being  eloquent.     In  ecclesiastical  bodies  he  was  very 

18 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  9 

influential  and  always  moderate  in  his  utterances,  and  did 
not  go  to  extremes  during  the  time  of  the  division  in  our 
Church.  I  saw  him  in  the  Assembly  which  met  in  Colum- 
bus in  1862.  His  energy  was  diminished,  but  his  prayer 
at  the  conclusion  of  all  the  sessions,  was  a  wonderful  out- 
pouring of  the  heart  before  God.  So  he  had  been  a  "  man 
of  God  "  at  every  Synod.  Eev.  James  Scott  was  chosen 
Moderator  of  this  Synod.  Formerly  I  had  found  him  at 
his  home  near  Mt.  Vernon,  a  plain  Christian  minister,  who 
had  exemplified  godliness  in  the  sight  of  all  men  for  many 
years,  and  was  now  honored  with  presiding  over  his  breth- 
ren. His  great  aptness  in  quoting  Scripture,  with  a  feeling 
heart,  was  the  peculiarity  of  his  preaching,  and  humility, 
from  frequent  communicm  with  God  in  prayer,  was  the 
the  characteristic  of  his  life.  His  lips  were  seen  moving 
while  he  literally  carried  out  the  direction,  "praying  with- 
out ceasing."  Kev.  James  B.  Morrow,  my  fellow-student 
at  college  and  at  Princeton  Seminary,  and  a  very  gentle- 
manly man — save  in  the  use  of  tobacco — was  one  of  the 
clerks.  He  was  pastor  at  Canton,  and  eventually  died 
from  neuralgia,  after  years  of  usefulness,  and  after  being 
one  year  Stated  Clerk  of  the  Synod.  Rev.  John  Wright 
was  made  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Bills  and  Over- 
tures. Neither  what  brother  Eaton  wrote  of  him  in  the 
"  Centenary  Volume"  of  the  four  Synods,nor  what  I  added 
in  the  appendixes  of  it,  were  sufficient  notices  of  such  a 
minister.  Nor  can  I,  in  these  short  reminiscences  of  those 
I  knew,  do  his  memory  anything  like  justice.  This  I  write, 
not  because  of  his  regard  for  my  father,  nor  his  hospitality 
to  me.  One  that  performed  such  service  in  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina,  and  especially  as  a  pioneer  in  Ohio,  exhib- 
iting so  much  energy  in  his  Master's  service,  with  such  a 
Christian  spirit,  should  be  presented  to  the  churches 
through  a  volume.     He  left  a  son,  now  at  rest,  and  grand- 


20     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

sons  to  fill  his  place  in  the  ministry.  As  chairman  of  the 
committee  he  brought  in  "  a  proposition  to  consider  the 
necessity  of  a  high  degree  of  ardent,  enlightened  piety  in 
ministers  and  ruling  elders,  and  to  inquire  by  what  means 
the  standard  of  piety  in  officers  of  the  Church  may  become 
more  elevated."  It  was  readily  referred  to  a  committee  of 
which  Dr.  Hoge  was  chairman.  The  ordinary  business 
was  suspended  at  3  I'clock  P.  M.,  on  Saturday,  and  "  the 
rest  of  the  day  spent  in  religious  exercises  with  the  congre- 
gation." Kev.  James  Culbertson  was  the  efficient  and  be- 
loved pastor  of  the  church,  and  very  influential  in  that 
whole  region.  His  bodily  appearance  was  healthfal,  his 
voice  sonorous  as  an  organ,  and  his  generosity  and  hu- 
mility unusual.  He  could  not  be  persuaded  to  accept  the 
title  of  D.D.,  which  had  been  conferred  upon  him.  He  be- 
came feeble  after  he  had  been  a  pastor  about  thirty  years, 
and  his  congregation  called  a  colleague  ;  but  he  did  not 
long  survive.  A  missionary  sermon  was  preached  on  Sab- 
bath evening  by  Rev.  Jacob  Little,  of  Granville,  on  "Cov- 
etousness."  It  was  rather  a  startling  exhibition  of  Scrip- 
tural truth  on  the  subject  in  an  original  way.  In  spend- 
ing a  Sabbath  with  this  excellent  pastor,  I  found  that  he 
had  all  the  New  England  love  for  statistics,  and  everything 
arranged  in  order.  He  had  a  work  for  everyone  and  every- 
one at  work.  As  an  overseer  of  the  flock,  he  had  many 
helpers,  and  much  of  his  original  thought  and  manner  of 
doing  things  were  brought  to  light  in  his  discourse.  He 
was  a  terror  to  evil  doers,  especially  to  the  venders  and 
users  of  intoxicating  drinks,  and  was  often  favored  with  re- 
vivals of  religion  in  his  congregation,  which  he  served 
down  to  old  age. 

The  overture,  "  Should  currant  wine,  or  any  other  than 
that  of  the  grape,  be  used  in  the  Lord's  Supper,"  was  an- 
swered in  the  negative.     It  was  resolved  that  subscriptions 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      2  I 

be  taken  up  through  the  Synod  to  retain  Mr.  James  Chute 
as  preacher  in  the  penitentiary  at  Columbus.  In  the  early 
part  of  the  session  the  following  action  had  been  taken  : 
"  Mr.  Jennings  had  leave  to  make  communications  to  the 
Synod  respecting  the  Christian  Herald,  a  religious  paper 
published  in  Pittsburgh."  After  which  it  was  resolved  to 
recommend  it  to  the  churches  under  the  care  of  Synod  to 
patronize  the  paper.  Another  overture,  as  to  "  the  expe- 
diency of  renewing  petitions  to  Congress  on  the  subject  of 
opening  and  transporting  the  mails  on  the  Sabbath,"  was 
answered  in  the  affirmative.  There  had  been  a  great  ef- 
fort made  by  the  Christian  community  to  accomplish  the 
object  mentioned  in  the  overture.  Kichard  M.  Johnson  in 
Congress  had  reported  adversely  to  the  request  of  the  peti- 
tioners in  erroneous  statements,  which  report  had  been 
printed  on  silk  and  framed  by  the  friends  of  the  Sabbath 
mails.  The  religious  papers  and  some  others  advocated 
the  right.  Hon.  Thomas  H.  Baird  wrote  a  long  article 
which  filled  a  whole  joage  of  the  Herald,  and  I  caused 
numerous  extra  copies  to  be  sent  wherever  the  paper  cir- 
culated, and  there  is  no  doubt  but  his  able  production  did 
much  to  lead  members  of  the  Synod  to  determine  to  con- 
tinue petitioning. 

In  those  times  of  difficulty  in  traveling,  a  large  number 
of  the  members  were  not  present.  Of  the  Presbytery  of 
Athens,  Dr.  K.  G.  Wilson,  President  of  the  University,  was 
absent — a  substantial  and  useful  man  in  his  day. 

THE    EEMXA^'T. 

Of  the  whole  number — nine — that  made  up  Athens 
Presbytery,  only  two  live :  Dr.  Kingsbury,  of  Marietta, 
and  Dr.  Spaulding,  of  New  York.  Of  the  whole  twelve 
ministers  that  composed  the  Presbytery  of  Columbus,  only 
one.  Dr.  Shedd,  of  Mt.  Gilead,  O.,  lives.  Of  the  twelve 
ministers  composing  the  Presbytery  of  Lancaster,  none  re- 


2  2     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

main.  Of  the  thirteen  ministers  of  the  Presbytery  of  Rich- 
land, none  live.  James  Scott,  James  Cunningham  and 
Thomas  Barr,  formerly  of  Euclid,  departed  long  since. 
Archibald  Hanna  lived  to  a  great  age,  with  acute  reason- 
ing powers,  and  exercised  them  with  good  results.  His 
first  effort,  when  a  licentiate,  was  the  production  of  a 
pamphlet  on  occasional  hearing  that  helped  to  remove 
bigotry.     He  had  three  sons  in  the  ministry. 

James  Snodgrass,  Robert  Lee.  Wm.  Matthews  and  John 
McKinney,  brother  of  our  late  Dr.  McKinney,  did  a  good 
work  in  Ohio  in  different  places.  The  courteous  James 
Rowland  died  not  long  since  at  Mansfield,  after  being  long 
afflicted,  and  peacefully  passed  away.  Dr.  Richard  Brown 
was  a  member  of  the  Synod  of  Ohio  in  1830,  but  departed 
this  life  at  Hagerstown,  O.,  iVpril  12,  1879,  aged  eighty- 
three.  He  was  my  senior  helper  in  everything  good  at 
college.  He  "  walked  with  God."  Though  not  gifted 
with  splendid  abilities  as  a  speaker,  he  was  "filled  with  the 
Spirit.  There  is  no  doubt  but  he  accomplished  more  for 
the  Church  of  Christ  than  many  endued  with  more  natural 
powers,  but  without  his  serious  piety.  What  was  once  the 
territory  occupied  by  this  Synod  has  had,  and  still  has, 
many  excellent  ministers,  but  none  remain  within  its 
bounds  but  the  two  mentioned  that  were  members  in  1830; 
and  the  venerable  John  Pitkin,  not  then  a  member,  but  a 
minister,  an  amiable  man,  waits  still. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

Ministers  and  Their  Work — Preaching  to  Promote 
Revivals — The  Subjects  of  Preaching — Dr.  Mc- 
Millan ON  Inability. 

SOME  youDger  brethren  have  requested  me  to  furnish 
reminiscences  of  deceased*ministers,  and  of  the  way  in 
which  they  preached  and  received  persons  into  the 
Church.  A  few  may  be  noticed  who  were  in  Western 
Pennsylvania  in  1810,  and  afterwards,  and  of  whom  I  had 
a  personal  knowledge,  so  far  as  to  justify  the  attempt  to 
aid  in  being  profited  by  their  example. 

I  sat  under  the  preaching  of  Dr.  John  McMillan  for 
three  years,  and  was  a  member  of  his  Bible  class.  I  knew 
something  of  the  ministry  of  Dr.  John  Anderson,  Dr.  M. 
Brown,  Rev.  Elisha  Macurdy,  Rev.  Joseph  Patterson,  Rev. 
Thomas  Marquis,  Rev.  William  Woods,  Rev.  Wm.  Wylie, 
Rev.  Robert  Johnston,  Rev.  George  M.  Scott,  Rev.  Moses 
Allen,  and  others,  amongst  whom  I  might  number  my 
grandfather,  Dr.  Jacob  Jennings. 

Those  mentioned  were  not  only  different  in  their  appear- 
ance, but  somewhat  different  in  their  manner  of  preaching 
and  in  their  intercourse  with  the  people  ;  but  in  the  main 
things,  essential  to  usefulness,  they  were  much  alike. 
First,  as  to  their  preaching.  They  earnestly  pressed  the 
invitations  of  the  gospel  upon  those  who  felt  their  need  of 
a  Saviour.  They  remembered  that  "  by  the  law  is  the 
knowledge  of  sin,"  and  those  not  convinced  of  it  would  no 
more  appreciate  him  than  the  "whole"  a  physician.     The 

23 


24     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

"  law  "  in  its  spirituality  and  extent,  with  the  penalties  for 
disobedience  was  fully  and  earnestly  presented.  The  need 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  produce  conviction  through  the  truth, 
and  to  carry  on  all  parts  of  his  gracious  work,  was  also 
much  dwelt  upon. 

The  discourses  from  the  pulpit  w^ere  not  so  much  about 
mankind  in  general  as  addressed  to  the  people  present. 
They  did  not  so  often  say  "they,"  but  "you."  Knowing 
"  the  terror  of  the  Lord,"  they  "  persuaded  men."  They 
did  not  shrink  to  use  the  "  whole  counsel  of  God,"  in  re- 
gard to  the  danger  of  his  wrath.  The  phrases  of  the  Bible 
about  it  were  not  smoothed  over,  so  as  to  awaken  no  fears. 
They  knew  that  the  uuregeuerated  heart  has  its  chief  sus- 
ceptibility in  fear — that  it  has  no  love  to  be  excited  ;  and 
while  they  did  not  use  cold  blooded  denunciation,  they 
were  moved  to  speak  in  the  spirit  of  our  Lord,  when  he  la- 
mented over  the  destruction  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusa- 
lem. Their  eloquence  was  not  so  much  in  language  as  in 
tears. 

They  did  not  so  preach  the  love  of  God  as  to  ignore  his 
holiness,  nor  his  mercy  so  as  to  leave  out  of  view  his  justice. 
Perhaps  some  did  preach  too  much  as  though  the  sinner 
was  to  prepare  to  be  forgiven,  rather  than  his  immediate 
submission  and  belief  to  be  saved.  The  entire  dependence 
on  God's  power  to  create  a  new  heart  was  fully  taught,  and 
the  want  of  will  upon  the  part  of  the  sinner,  the  great  rea- 
son why  he  was  not  changed.  His  responsibility  and  guilt 
and  danger  were  thrown  over  upon  himself,  and  he  was 
taught  to  see  that  it  was  only  by  the  Divine  Spirit  he 
could  be  made  walling  in  "  the  day  of  God's  power "  to 
yield  immediately,  and  that  he  must  be  saved  as  a  perishing 
sinner. 

Of  the  private  devotion  and  study  that  prepared  these 
excellent  fathers  to  be  so  successful,  I  cannot  speak.     But 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      25 

it  is  certain  that  they  did  not  rely  on  eloquence  of  language 
in  Avriting  or  speaking.  What  would  make  them  popular 
as  speakers,  they  appeared  not  to  have  considered.  They 
were  generally  plain  men,  speaking  in  plain  language  to 
plain  people.  They  did  not  seek  to  make  the  word  a  source 
of  mere  entertainment.  They  appeared  to  remember  the 
word  of  God  as  contained  in  Jeremiah  xxiii.  29  :  "  Is  not 
my  word  like  as  a  fire?  saith  the  Lord ;  and  like  a  hammer 
that  breaketh  the  rock  in  pieces  ?" 

The  preaching  of  these  fathers  was  not  unduly  hortatory. 
They  usually  made  divisions  and  sub-divisions  in  their 
sermons  with  a  proper  personal  application.  They  were 
far  from  the  essay  form,  ornate  and  smooth,  passing  over 
every  person  and  every  sin.  On  the  contrary,  each  one 
got  his  "  portion  in  due  season,"  none  saying,  "  What  a 
splendid  sermon  !"  God  got  the  glory,  and  some  retired 
to  pray  for  a  blessing. 

The  reception  of  persons  into  the  Church  occurred  after 
they  had  given  evidence  of  repentance,  preceded  usually 
by  pungent  conviction  of  sin,  whether  that  was  experienced 
during  the  period  called  "  the  falling  work,"  in  the  early 
part  of  this  century,  or  later  when  there  was  no  "  bodily 
exercise "  manifested.  The  pastors  usually  visited  and 
conversed  with  the  anxious.  Daring  the  time  of  the 
fathers,  whose  names  have  been  mentioned,  there  were  too 
few  "  inquiry  meetings."  Christians,  however,  "  inquired  " 
of  God  alone,  for  the  blessed  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit; 
and  they  were  imparted,  producing  solemn  conviction  of 
sin  and  danger.  When  evidence  of  regeneration  was  given, 
the  Session  "added  to  the  Church  such  as  should  be  saved," 
after  each  one  had  been  examined  separately.  There  was 
no  urgency  immediately  to  join  the  Church,  and  thus  heal 
"  the  wound  slightly  "  by  a  hasty  profession.  No  calling 
up  persons  to  ask  them  a  few  questions,  as  you  would  ex- 


2.6  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

amiue  a  class,  and  then  bring  them  all,  by  a  kind  of  whole- 
sale process,  into  the  Church.  The  ministers  had  not  the 
power  of  "  discerning  spirits."  There  were  some  days  of 
continued  prayer  and  preaching ;  but  not  in  order  that,  at 
the  close,  as  many  as  would  consent  should  be  received  as 
members,  whether  they  were  united  to  Christ  or  not.  Our 
forefathers  valued  real  heartfelt  religion  vastly  more  than 
a  mere  willingness  to  become  a  member  of  the  Church,  to 
make  a  saviour  out  of  it.  They  did  not  urge  any  to  join 
it,  because  some  of  their  friends  had  done  so  ;  and  thus  be 
prepared  to  report  a  large  number  as  added.  They  knew 
it  was  too  serious  and  solemn  a  matter  for  people  to  be  de- 
ceived, and  ministers  would  not  be  accessory  to  it.  Hence, 
the  majority  of  members  added  in  former  times,  were  per- 
sons of  living  piety  and  consistent  in  practice ;  though  they 
had  not  yet  learned  the  duty  of  activity  and  benevolence 
to  the  extent  that  some  have  in  these  later  times. 

PREACHING   TO    PROMOTE   REVIVALS. 

The  time  was  "  in  season  and  out  of  season,"  by  night 
and  day,  to  save  "  souls  from  death."  The  place  was  the 
school  house,  the  fireside,  the  shady  grove,  and  the  pulpit 
in  the  old  log  church.  It  was  high  up,  without  opportu- 
nity for  peripatetic  movements.  The  object  was  not  in  the 
use  of  some  popular  theme  to  draw  and  please  men."  The 
preaching  was  not  about  lukewarm  Christians  and  unbe- 
lieving sinners,  but  to  them.  The  speakers  did  not  so 
much  use  the  pronoun  they,  as  you.  It  was  usually  plain, 
pointed,  and  often  inelegant  and  repetitious.  As  Dr.  Net- 
tleton  in  the  East,  in  his  marvelous  instrumentality,  re- 
volved a  few  leading  important  ideas  over  and  over,  that 
the  hearers  might  carry  them  away  in  their  minds  ;  so  our 
fathers  in  the  West  did,  fixing,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  the 
arrows  of  conviction  in  the  conscience. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.  2^ 

THE   SUBJECTS  OF   PREACHING 

were  practical.  Doctrines  were  so  applied  as  to  become  so. 
The  moral  law  in  all  its  teachings,  was  presented.  A  "law 
work,"  as  it  was  called,  shorter  or  longer,  was  considered 
necessary  to  bring  back  wandering  saints  and  to  convict 
sinners.  The  "  terrors  of  the  Lord  "  were  not  with-held. 
The  administrators  of  this  truth,  were  not  always  polished, 
but  wise  to  win  souls,  by  adapting  it  to  the  different  states 
of  the  soul.  With  feeling  hearts,  they  took  away  the  ex- 
cuses ;  or,  as  one  said,  "  took  away  props  and  laid  on  the 
weights  "  of  obligation  to  believe  and  obey.  In  calling 
upon  hearers  to  be  reconciled  to  God,  they  took  part  with 
him  against  the  rebel ;  and  with  such  tenderness  and  faith- 
fulness as  characterized  the  late  Drs.  Weed  of  Wheeling, 
Comingo,  of  Steubenville,  and  brother  Cook,  of  Bridge- 
water,  and  others,  who  persevered  in  the  same  strain  of 
subjects — not  giving  one  kind  one  part  of  the  day,  and 
something  that  diverted  the  mind  the  other  part ;  but  re- 
membered from  time  to  time  to  carry  out  the  intention — as 
physicians  would  say  in  curing  the  body — with  portions  of 
truth  adapted  to  the  great  object  in  bringing  the  soul  to 
submit  to  Jesus,  the  great  Physician. 

The  wise  forefathers,  in  the  beginning  of  this  century, 
adapted  the  subject  to  the  special  object,  viz.,  to  reconcile 
"the  world  to  God."  This  is  illustrated  by  the  preaching 
of  Eev.  Mr.  Macurdy,  at  Upper  Bufialo,  on  the  second 
Sabbath  of  November,  1802.  When  he  was  called  to  ad- 
dress part  of  the  large  crowd  of  people,  who  could  not  all 
hear  any  one  of  the  fifteen  ministers  in  any  one  place,  he 
rose  by  request,  and  from  a  wagon  spoke  to  the  people  his 
sermon  from  the  second  Psalm,  "  Kiss  the  Son,  lest  he  be 
angry."  The  result  by  the  Spirit  was,  that  large  numbers 
were  overpowered,  feeling  that  they  had  been  rebels  against 
God,  and  soon  surrendered. 


28     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

Dr.  John  McMillan,  the  chief  teacher  of  theology  in 
those  times,  taught  by  his  preaching  that  the  guilt  and 
condemnation  of  the  sinner  must  rest  upon  himself  In  a 
sermon  furnished  me  for  publication  in  the  Presbyterian 
Preacher,  just  before  his  death,  on  "  the  sinner's  inability 
inexcusable,  yet  divine  influence  necessary,"  we  find  the 
following  declaration  fully  unfolded,  viz. :  He  says — "  Let 
it  only  be  remembered  that  all  the  sinner's  inability  is  of  a 
moral  and  not  of  a  physical  nature,  and  the  absurdity  of 
such  excuses  must  appear  in  a  proper  light.  .  .  .  All  the 
reason,  therefore,  why  the  sinner  cannot  love  God  and  obey 
him,  behold  Christ's  glory  and  believe  on  him,  is  because 
he  has  no  heart  for  these  things.  This  kind  of  preaching 
might  in  some  places,  in  our  day,  be  unwelcome;  but  it 
was  that  which  prepared  the  way  for  a  speedy  acquiescence 
in  the  gospel  through  "  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation." 
Through  the  most  competent  ministers  of  this  period,  the 
scriptural  doctrines  of  God's  sovereignty  in  election  Avere 
so  preached  as  to  avoid  Antinomian  error ;  and  on  the 
other  hand  man's  free  agency  and  ability,  so  as  to  avoid 
the  opposite  Arminian  error,  that  inquirers  would  find  no 
reason  for  delay  in  submitting  to  Christ,  nor  for  presump- 
tion that  they  could  come  to  him  without  being  drawn  by 
the  Father.  Thus  the  fathers  were  among  the  wisest  and 
most  successful  preachers  that  the  Church  has  had,  by 
their  various  teachings.  They  were  men  of  "effectual" 
prayer. 


CHAPTEK  VI. 

The  Work  of  the  Lord  in  the  Early  Part  of  this 
Century — The  Hindrances — The  Means  Used — 
Private  Prayer — The  Minister's  Labors — Per- 
sons Received  as  Members — Declension. 

/~T~\he  religious  history  given  in  the  "Centenary  Memorial" 
volume  by  that  dear  departed  brother,  Dr.  Williams, 
and  also  the  small  and  interesting  narrative  on  the  re- 
vivals in  the  West,  by  our  beloved  Dr.  Speer,  do  not  continue 
the  recollections  much  beyond  the  time  of  the  great  revival 
of  about  five  years,  now  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  century 
past.  Those  wishiug  to  know  what  has  been  the  state  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  "  in  Western  Pennsylvania  and 
parts  adjacent,"  during  the  time  of  their  immediate  ances- 
try, would  wish  something  farther.  Such  inquiries  have 
been  made  of  me,  especially  by  younger  brethreu  in  the 
ministry,  that  I  am  constrained  to  make  the  attempt  to 
give  a  brief  sketch  of  what  I  "  have  heard  and  known 
and  our  fathers  have  told  "  of  the  state  of  things  during 
a  few  years. 

hindrances. 
1.  The  prosperity  of  the  Church  was  impeded  by  the 
war  of  1812  with  Great  Britain,  as  I  have  stated  in  the 
"Centenary  Memorial."  2.  Afterv^-ards  the  minds  of  many 
were  affected  by  financial  difficulties  and  the  want  of  re- 
muneration for  their  toils,  so  that  they  supposed  they 
could  not  do  much  for  the  cause  of  Christ.  3.  Habits  of 
intoxication  rather  increased  during  and  after  the  war, 
3*  29 


30     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

which  closed  in  1815.  So  that  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh 
bore  its  testimony  against  them  more  than  once.  4.  Oppor- 
tunities for  speedy  travehng  to  religious  assemblies,  to  join 
in  religious  services,  were  not  good  at  certain  seasons  of  the 
year.  5.  The  means  of  religious  intelligence  were  limited. 
Eev.  John  Andrews  (my  immediate  predecessor  as  editor) 
published  the  only  religious  paper  in  the  United  States  at 
Chilicothe,  in  1814.  Good  books  and  tracts  were  very 
few.  Sabbath  Schools  were  not  generally  established. 
The  Bible  and  the  Catechism  were  the  chief  aids,  and  were 
adapted  to  accomplish  what  the  vast  amount  of  religious 
fiction  cannot  in  our  day.  6.  Political  partisanship  was 
excessive  during  these  years.  Some  good  men  became  in- 
volved in  it — especially  in  elections  for  Governor  of  the 
State — because  his  power  of  conferring  offices  in  the  sev- 
eral counties  was  great.  This  led  many  to  forget  to  aim 
chiefly  to  have  Divine  government  placed  upon  the  "  shoul- 
der "  of  Jesus.  7.  In  1816,  what  has  been  called  "  the 
College  war"  began.  It  grew  out  of  the  course  of  the 
Trustees  of  Washington  College  in  electing  the  President 
of  Jefferson  for  President.  It  continued  in  the  centre  of 
influence  within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod  for  two  years, 
and  those  more  distant  sympathized.  The  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  was  not  among  the  people  as  formerly.  These 
were  some  of  the  external  hindrances  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  Church,  along  with  the  ordinary  ones,  that  are  internal 
— the  want  of  sanctification,  and  faith  and  perseverance  in 
"  well  doing,"  in  dependence  on  God.  Their  existence  led 
the  Synod  to  take  measures,  in  1821,  to  bring  about  a 
better  state  of  things. 

THE  MEANS   USED. 

What  follows  is  part  of  what  it  adopted,  viz.:  The  Synod 
of  Pittsburgh,  in  taking  a  retrospective  view  of  the  past, 
feels  mingled  emotions  of  gratitude  and  sorrow.     God  in 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      3  I 

righteous  displeasure  is  withholding  the  influence  of  his 
Spirit,  and  our  Zion  mourns.     Therefore,  on  motion, 

Resolved,  1.  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  congregations  under 
onr  care,  to  observe  Wednesday,  the  14th  day  of  November  next,  as  a 
day  of  humiliation,  fasting  and  prayer,  in  reference  to  the  low  state 
of  religion  among  us,  and  that  the  ministers  belonging  to  the 
Synod  improve  that  opportunity  to  impress  on  their  hearts  the  ne- 
cessity of  a  reformation. 

2.  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  members  of  the  Synod  to  make 
special  efforts,  by  meditation,  self-examination  and  secret  prayer,  for 
a  revival  of  religion  in  their  own  hearts,  and  while  they  make  this  a 
part  of  their  daily  business,  that  they  devote  Tuesday,  the  6th  day 
of  November  next  to  this  particular  object. 

It  was  also  recommended  to  the  ministers  of  this  Synod 
to  go  two  and  two,  according  to  the  direction  of  our  Sa- 
viour, and  visit  the  congregations  in  their  vicinity.  To 
adopt  this  course  in  the  future  by  the  Synod,  there  had 
been  encouragement  from  the  narrative  as  to  what  had 
taken  place  in  the  Presbyteries  of  Grand  River  and  Fort- 
age,  then  parts  of  the  Synod.  By  such  means,  the  work  of 
reviving  had  begun  in  about  eight  congregations  of  each 
Presbytery. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  recommendations  of 
the  Synod  were  faithfully  carried  out.  For  appointed  days 
of  fasting  and  humiliation,  meant  more  at  those  times  than 
the  name  and  form.  The  reports  of  the  admissions  to  the 
Church  next  year,  1822,  showed  an  increase  of  member- 
ship. Some  congregations,  not  so  numerous  as  others,  re- 
ceived a  proportionate  number  of  communing  members. 
I  think  the  figures  given  at  that  time  might  be  re- 
lied upon,  as  numbering  those  who,  after  careful  exam- 
ination as  to  their  gracious  change,  had  been  ready  to 
give  a  reason  of  "the  hope  that  was  within  them,  with 
meekness  and  fear,"  as  enjoined  by  the  Apostle  Peter. 
Judging  from  the  numbers  reported,  it  would  appear  that 


32     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

following  the  special  means,  there  had  been  encouraging 
ingatherings.  And  this  occurred  in  some  churches  where 
the  pastors  were  aged,  and  in  some  where  they  were  sup- 
posed not  to  be  gifted  as  much  with  talent  as  some  others 
in  the -ministry.  This  increased  encouragement  continued 
during  a  succession  of  years,  caused  by  continued  showers 
of  divine  influence  in  different  places. 

About  the  year  1828  they  became  more  powerful,  and  so 
continued  till  about  1832,  when  the  strife  about  errorists 
and  measures  and  ecclesiastical  policy,  began  to  become 
prevalent,  and  then  there  was  for  some  years,  a  decline  in 
the  interests  of  practical  religion.  But  during  these  years, 
while  God  evinced  his  sovereignty  and  grace  in  different 
places  and  with  different  j^ersons,  he  also  fulfilled  his  word, 
"  for  whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap." 
Special  applications  of  this  fact  might  not  now  be  wise. 

OTHERS    IN    USE. 

You  have  seen  from  my  former  statements,  that  national 
war,  controversy  and  rivalry  between  literary  institutions 
and  divisions  in  the  congregations,  were  unfavorable  to  true 
religion.  When  they  passed  away,  the  way  was  prepared 
for  the  special  work  of  the  Spirit,  who  stirred  up  the  minds 
of  ministers  and  people  to  their  appropriate  duties,  and 
aided  them  in  their  performance.  Though  all  did  not 
equally  experience  those  obstacles,  all  were  not  equally 
without  evidence  of  spiritual  prosperity,  for  the  two 
churches  in  Pittsburgh,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Kev. 
Drs.  Herron  and  Swift,  were  still  favored  under  the  labors 
of  those  excellent  men. 

A  detailed  account  of  the  means  preceding  the  revivals 
in  certain  places,  would  show  that  there  was  prayer  in  con- 
cert at  sunrise  ;  often  only  by  a  few  persons,  and  sometimes 
by  a  few  women  alone.  The  inconveniences  of  small 
dwellings,  led  some  to  repair  to  the  barns,  or  woods,  or 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      33 

fence-corners  for  a  closet  for  private  prayer.  All  this  God 
saw,  and  he  heard  their  supplications.  Such  means  pre- 
pared the  way  for  his  presence,  along  with  the  day  of  pub- 
lic humiliation,  one  of  which  has  been  particularly  speci- 
fied. When  a  revival  began,  people  changed  the  ordinary 
subjects  of  conversation,  and  their  prayers  were  not  of  the 
stereotyped  kind  formerly  used.  The  people  at  the  place 
of  worship  were  solemn,  and  they  left  it  without  laughter. 
The  "wicked  one  "  did  not  catch  away  "  that  which  was 
sown  in  the  heart." 

THE  ministers'  LABORS. 

Though  the  financial  support  of  most  of  the  ministers 
was  limited,  yet  when  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  gave  indica- 
tions of  his  presence,  they  left  all  and  gave  themselves 
"  wholly  to  the  work  "  of  saving  souls  "  from  death."  It 
was  not  at  such  times  difficult  to  preach,  having  "  an  unc- 
tion from  the  Holy  one."  The  language  used  was  not 
characterized  by  literary  elegance,  but  by  great  plainness 
of  speech  and  tenderness.  "  The  terrors  of  the  Lord  "  were 
preached,  knowing  that "  by  the  law  is  a  knowledge  of  sin" 
necessary  to  receive ;  or,  as  the  phrase  was  after,  to  "  close 
in  with  Christ."  Each  minister  had  some  peculiar  gifts. 
Dr.  John  McMillan  and  Rev.  Robert  Johnston,  with  their 
strong  voices,  were  heard  with  solemn  awe  ;  Dr.  Anderson 
laid  open  the  inmost  working  of  the  soul ;  Rev.  Elisha 
Macurdy,  with  measured,  expressive  language  and  deep 
emotion,  called  ujoon  the  sinner  to  be  reconciled  to  God  ; 
Drs.  Matthew  Brown  and  William  Wylie,  with  affectionate 
earnestness,  invited  him  to  Christ,  who  had  made  an  atone- 
ment; Drs.  A.  G.  Fairchild,  A.  O.  Patterson  and  Obadiah 
Jennings  presented  the  truth  in  its  rich  variety  with  clear- 
ness, and  in  its  adaptedness  to  the  case  of  the  inquirer. 
Some  excellent  men,  not  gifted  with  great  oratorical  power, 
but  with  minds  richly  furnished   with  gospel  truth,  and 


34     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

feeling  hearts,  were  wonderfully  successful  in  winning 
souls — such  as  Rev.  G.  M.  Scott,  Rev.  William  Speer, 
Rev.  Samuel  Tait,  and  Rev.  Johnston  Eaton  ;  and  others, 
not  so  generally  known,  were  in  their  congregations,  during 
this  period,  blessed  with  evidence  of  God's  special  presence 
among  his  people  in  different  parts  of  this  then  widely- 
extended  Synod.  Alas  !  all  these,  and  more  than  as  many 
more,  who  were  contemporary  fellow-laborers,  whose  voices 
I  have  heard,  have  passed  away.  Many,  too,  who  were 
younger  in  life,  and  very  successful  in  promoting  revivals, 
are  gone.  Rev.  Job  F.  Halsey,  Dr.  George  Marshall,  and 
Dr.  John  Stockton,  were  interesting  and  much  desired 
during  times  of  spiritual  awakening,  and  by  their  instru- 
mentality many  were  converted  to  God.  Rev.  Daniel  De- 
ruelle,  licensed  with  me  at  Princeton,  and  afterwards  pas- 
tor for  a  short  time  at  Washington  and  at  Florence,  in  the 
same  Presbytery,  though  not  of  great  learning,  had  upon 
his  mind,  the  "  solemn  weight  of  eternal  things  "  ;  and, 
having  a  series  of  sermons  adapted  to  awaken,  and  carry 
on  the  cure  of  the  soul  through  the  instrumentality  of 
truth,  was  very  useful  during  the  period  mentioned.  It 
had  become  understood,  by  spiritual  discernment,  that  not 
all  kinds  of  truth  were  equally  adapted  to  promote  a  revi- 
val. Some  sermons,  cold  and  clear  as  ice,  were  not  of 
much  more  use  at  such  a  time  than  ice  would  be  to  fire. 

PERSONS    RECEIVED     AS    MEMBERS. 

The  officers  did  not  aim  so  much  to  publish  after  a  meet- 
ing of  some  days,  that  a  certain  number  had  been  added  ; 
as  in  due  time  to  give  an  account  of  the  work  of  the  Spirit, 
and  the  reason  they  had  for  believing  that  God  had 
changed  some  persons  before  they  were  admitted  to  the 
privileges  of  communicants.  Such  revivals  were  not  short 
lived,  and  like  the  "  streams  in  the  South"  that  soon  dried 
up.     The   fruits    continued.     Though  during   the   period 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      35 

under  recollection,  the  work  of  the  Lord  was  somewhat 
different  from  what  it  was  from  1802  to  1807,  it  had  in 
some  places  a  like  continuance.  At  Cross  Creek,  where 
Dr.  Stockton  was  pastor  during  1828  and  1829,  there  were 
just  three  hundred  persons  received  on  examination. 
Though  this  took  in  a  large  number  of  the  people  not 
previously  members,  there  were  also  received  fifty-seven 
additional  in  the  three  following  years.  It  was  somewhat 
so  in  other  places,  because  the  people  abounded  in  the 
work  of  the  Lord.  He  gave  "  the  increase."  It  continued 
till  1831,  for  that  year  the  Synod  said  in  its  Narrative, 
"  We  have  reason  to  bless  the  great  Head  of  the  Church, 
that  he  has  not  entirely  left  himself  without  witness,  by 
adding  1,140  from  the  world." 

DECLENSION. 

The  next  year  there  was  evidence  of  declension  and  dis- 
traction in  the  churches,  which  eventuated  in  a  division,  by 
which  there  were  separated  from  our  branch,  such  men  as 
John  Seward,  Caleb  Pitkin,  William  Hanford,  and  Ran- 
dolph Stone,  formerly  members  of  this  Synod,  and  from 
our  midst  Rev.  Dr.  Riddle,  who  had  been  so  much  beloved 
and  so  useful.  These  facts  are  now  only  referred  to  that 
those  succeeding  us  may  be  profited  by  what  has  been  de- 
plored, as  well  as  encouraged  by  what  has  rejoiced  the 
hearts  of  those  sleeping  in  the  dust. 


CHAPTER  YII. 

The  State  of  the  Church  feom  1821  to  1828 — From 
1828  TO  1832 — Female  Influence  at  this  Period. 

N  1821  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  took  special  action  on 
the  state  of  religion,  and  directed  that  their  report 
__  should  be  published  and  circulated  in  pamphlet  form 
through  the  agency  of  Rev.  Joseph  Patterson,  ever  ready  to 
do  good  through  the  printed  page.  Though  there  had 
been  some  revival  in  the  churches  of  Grand  River  and 
Portage  Presb}^eries,  there  had  now  been  felt  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Synod  (who  were  designating  certain  measures) 
such  desires  that  they  say :  "  In  fine,  the  condition  of  the 
Church  seems  to  call  loudly  on  all  the  friends  of  Zion  to 
awake  from  their  slumbers,  to  take  the  alarm  for  them- 
selves and  the  Church  of  God,  to  repent  and  do  the  first 
works." 

In  connection  with  the  injunctions  of  the  narrative,  the 
Synod  expressed  "  the  want  of  some  convenient  vehicle  for 
the  circulation  of  religious  intelligence,"  and  gave  an  invi- 
tation to  Rev.  John  Andrews  to  transfer  his  paper  to  Pitts- 
burgh, where  it  became  the  "  Pittsburgh  Recorder,"  and  a 
great  aid,  under  the  editorial  care  of  that  hoary  headed, 
small,  godly  man,  to  the  promotion  of  practical  piety.  The 
measures  of  public  humiliation  and  private  devotion  were 
followed  more  generally  within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod, 
with  more  revivals  than  had  been  experienced  for  some 
years  of  a  permanent  nature  among  the  members  of  the 
Church,  and  attended  with  careful  admission  to  her  mem- 

36 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      ^J 

bership.  Some  of  them  were  in  the  new  churches  in  the 
Western  Reserve ;  one  at  Mill  Creek,  under  the  23astoral 
care  of  Rev.  G.  M.  Scott,  one  at  Cross  Roads,  one  at  Mt. 
Pleasant  church,  Beaver  county,  one  at  George's  Creek, 
and  one  at  Chartiers.  So  that  in  1823,  Dr.  McMillan  re- 
ceived forty  new  members,  and  the  next  year  thirty  more, 
and  the  students  in  Jefferson  College  were  subjects  of  it. 
There,  a  blooming,  sprightly  youth,  who  afterwards  became 
one  of  its  Presidents,  was  brought  to  consecrate  all  to 
Christ.  Thus,  by  a  more  devoted  regard  to  the  service  of 
God  and  his  Church,  there  was  an  increase  of  church  mem- 
bers who  were  of  permanent  use  in  the  Kingdom  of  the 
Redeemer. 

FROM  1828  TO  1832. 

There  were  "times  of  refreshing"  in  many  places  in 
connection  with  the  proper  use  of  means.  In  1828,  before 
it  was  expected,  the  Lord  had  showed  His  willingness  to 
pour  out  his  Spirit,  and  verify  the  prophecy  of  Is.  Ixv.  24, 
"  While  they  are  yet  speaking,  I  will  hear."  This  had 
been  specially  so  in  congregations  in  Washington  County, 
at  Florence,  Cross  Creek,  Buffalo,  Mount  Prospect,  and 
Washington.  A  solemn,  silent  w^ork  had  been  commenced, 
which  lasted  in  perpetual  fruit.  In  some  places  on  week 
days,  when  the  minister  dismissed  the  people,  some  sat 
down  to  weep,  wishing  to  be  instructed  further  in  answer 
to  the  question,  what  they  should  do  to  be  saved.  At 
Mount  Prospect,  then  a  new  organization  without  a  pastor, 
a  licentiate,  by  invitation,  preached  on  the  Lord's  day  in 
June,  two  plain  sermons,  and  then  appointed  a  meeting  for 
prayer  and  exhortation  in  the  afternoon  at  Elder  Cowan's 
house.  When  the  people  were  dismissed,  some  did  not 
leave,  and  after  being  further  instructed  still  remained  in 
tears.  This  so  affected  the  venerable  elder  that  he  arose 
and  spoke  to  the  inquirers  with  streaming  eyes.     Though 


3S  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

at  Washington,  inquiry  meqtings  were  held  before  Dr.  O. 
Jennings  removed  to  Nashville,  they  were  continued,  be- 
sides frequent  preaching,  every  Monday  night  for  many 
months.  Elders  there,  and  pious  women,  were  helpers  in 
calling  some  to  believe  on  Christ.  Among  those  brought  to 
give  evidence  of  a  saving  change,  were  some  of  the  most 
influential  persons,  as  Dr.  E.  R.  Reed,  and  some  of  the 
students  of  the  college,  who  afterwards  became  useful  min- 
isters. 

From  what  was  experienced  in  other  parts  of  the  bounds 
of  the  Synod,  its  members  were  led  to  recommend  special 
private  and  public  means  as  it  had  done  in  1821.  A  com- 
mittee was  appointed,  as  the  Synod  expressed  it,  "  to  take 
into  consideration  the  state  of  religion  in  our  bounds."  Dr. 
M.  Brown  was  chairman.  They  brought  in  a  long  paper, 
which,  after  stating,  "  there  is  abundant  encouragement  that 
God  wdll  give  his  blessing  and  revive  his  work,"  pointed 
out  very  much  the  same  duties  for  ministers  and  people  as 
in  1821.  Also,  at  one  meeting  of  the  Synod,  the  forenoon 
of  Wednesday  was  spent  in  earnest  and  devotional  exer- 
cises. The  result  of  this  waking  up  to  the  more  faithful 
use  of  the  means  of  grace  was,  that  during  the  next  two  or 
three  years,  there  were  but  few  congregations  that  had  not 
enjoyed  some  revival. 

In  the  narrative  of  1831,  the  Synod  reported  about  some 
congregations,  and  in  some  instances  about  some  Presby- 
teries. In  regard  to  George's  Creek  congregation,  of  which 
Rev.  Dr.  Fairchild  was  pastor,  it  said  :  "  The  work  of  di- 
vine grace  which  commenced  last  year  still  continues.  Its 
precious  fruits  have  already  numbered  more  than  one  hun- 
dred." I  remember  that  he  asked  leave  of  absence  because 
of  the  interesting  state  of  his  church  at  home,  in  that  mod- 
est, gentlemanly  way  which  always  characterized  him. 

In  the  Presbytery  of  Erie,  the  Synod  reported  the 
churches  of  "  Erie,  Meadville,  Northeast,  Forks  of  French 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.     39 

Creek,  Fairview,  Springfield,  Salem,  and  Warren,  as  fa- 
vored joortions  of  God's  heritage  ;"  that  in  the  Presbytery 
of  Allegheny  there  were  favorable  indications ;  that  in  the 
congregations  of  Steubenville  and  Two  Ridges  there  had 
been  large  additions ;  that  in  the  Presbytery  of  Hartford, 
Youngstown,  Neshannock,  Moorfield,  Hoj^ewell,  Canfield, 
and  Ellsworth,  "had  shared  the  Lord's  mercy." 

So,  in  consequence  of  increased  personal  piety,  there  was, 
during  these  years,  an  increased  interest  in  missions,  educa- 
tion. Sabbath  Schools  and  temperance  societies.  The  Synod 
said  that  these,  "  with  social  prayer  and  four  days'  meet- 
ings, accompanied  with  a  plain  and  pointed  exhibition  of 
God's  truth,  have  been  the  means  He  has  owned  and  blessed." 
These  facts  might  be  brought  to  ,view  fifty  years  after  they 
occurred,  that  the  churches  now  seeking  to  see  a  time  of 
revival  may  be  profited,  especially  by  the  example  of  per- 
severance. 

FEMALE    INFLUEXCE   AT    THIS    PERIOD. 

Christian  women  generally  were  not  highly  literary. 
None  made  public  addresses.  A"  few^,  like  Mrs.  Dr.  Allan 
D.  Campbell,  wrote  on  religious  subjects.  Mrs.  Job  F. 
Halsey  framed  some  of  the  lessons  in  the  "Union  Ques- 
tion "  book,  published  by  the  American  Sunday  School 
Union,  and  wrote  the  tract,  "Who  Slew  All  These?"  and 
also  edited  a  small  Sabbath  School  paper.  The  pecuniary 
means  of  the  majority  were  limited,  and  their  w^ork  for 
Avomen  in  the  missionary  cause  w^as  not  extensive.  Yet 
they  had  "  Dorcas  "  and  "  Mite  "  and  sewing  societies,  which 
did  not  often  degenerate  into  gossiping  institutions.  The  time 
spent  w^as  in  useftil  communications.  They  were  not  often 
luxurious  in  their  festive  entertainments.  There  was  usually 
simplicity  in  their  apparel,  in  conformity  to  the  sidvice  of 
the  Apostle,  in  I.  Tim.  ii.  9,  and  to  that  of  Peter  the  Apostle, 
in  his  first  epistle,  third  chapter,  third  and  fourth  verses. 


40     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

They  early  took  part  in  the  temperance  reformation,  though 
some  few  reluctantly  gave  up  tendering  their  domestic  wines. 
Tract  distribution  in  some  towns,  was  carried  on  byHhem, 
though  there  was  this  mistake,  that  they  gave  the  same 
medicine  every  month  to  all  that  were  diseased.  They  were 
benefited  by  reading  No.  226,  published  by  the  American 
Tract  Society"  on  "Female  Influence." 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

Missionary  Reminiscences — Efforts  Among  the  In- 
dians— In  Africa,  In  India,  In  China,  and  in 
Japan. 

/~P\here  have  been  frequent  occasions  for  both  thanks- 
giving to  God  for  missionaries  and  sympathy  ^Yith 
them;  thanksgiving  that  God  made  some  willing  to 
go  to  the  heathen  and  the  destitute;  and  sympathy  exer- 
cised for  the  servants  of  Christ  abroad,  and  for  the  be- 
reaved at  home.  Reminiscences  of  the  past  may  prepare 
to  exercise  gratitude  and  sympathy  in  the  future.  In 
giving  some,  I  shall  be  pardoned  for  confining  myself  to 
those  of  which  I  had  a  personal  knowledge.  Our  branch 
of  the  Church  oiice  aided  the  American  Board  in  her  mis- 
sionary efforts. 

INDIANS. 

In  November,  1820,  Rev.  Cyrus  Byington,  with  teachers 
and  a  large  family  of  helpers,  passed  down  the  Ohio  River 
in  a  common  flat-boat,  on  their  way  to  the  Choctaw  tribe 
of  Indians,  then  in  the  Yazoo  country.  When  they  left 
SteubenviUe,  after  spending  the  Sabbath  in  the  congrega- 
tion of  Rev.  O.  Jennings,  on  Monday  moruiug,  they  floated 
off  amidst  the  ice,  then  making  rapidly,  and  called  forth 
the  sympathy  of  the  good  people  of  the  church. 

Though  in  some  places  there  was  a  declension  of  personal 
religion,  the  spirit  of  evangelizing  the  Indians  had  con- 
tinued and  operated  through  the  "  Board  of  Trust  "all 
these  past  years.  Rev.  George  ^I.  Scott  was  sent  to  the 
4*  41 


42     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

Sandusky  Indians  as  early  as  1804.  In  1808  Rev.  Messrs. 
Macurdy,  Marquis  and  Anderson  visited  Sandusky.  The 
former  remained  for  a  time  with  them  under  discouraging 
circumstances.  Afterwards  Mr.  Macurdy  visited  the  In- 
dians at  Sandusky  with  Rev.  James  Scott ;  then  the  Corn- 
planter  Indians  in  1816  ;  then  the  Indians  on  the  Maumee, 
with  Rev.  Joseph  Stevenson ;  then  with  Rev.  James  C. 
Crane,  and  last  with  Rev.  Dr.  Anderson,  traveling  in  all, 
in  behalf  of  the  Indians,  in  a  muddy  country,  about  4,500 
miles.  In  sympathy  wdth  him,  many  of  our  youthful 
voices  sang  at  the  fireside  the  hymn,  "  Poor  Indian!  in  the 
dark  wood." 

But  others  partook  of  the  same  spirit  of  interest  in  the 
Indians.  Rev.  E.  P.  Swaft  and  Rev.  Michael  Law  visited 
Maumee  in  1821  in  their  behalf.  The  latter,  on  his  return, 
died  in  Ohio,  having  been  the  useful  pastor  of  Montour's 
church.  In  1822,  Rev.  Samuel  Tait  w^as  appointed  Super- 
intendent of  the  Ottawa  mission  on  the  Maumee  by  the 
Board  of  T^ust.  In  1823,  I  knew  something  of  its  zeal,  in 
being  requested,  at  Cleveland,  to  secure  a  passage  in  a 
sailing  vessel,  on  Lake  Erie,  for  Rev.  Ludovicus  Robbins 
and  his  wife  as  missionaries  to  the  Ottawas.  I  did  the 
best  I  could,  w^hich  was  to  get  them  on  board  of  a  filthy 
ship,  and  alone  see  them  sail  away,  for  there  were  but  three 
other  Presbyterian  male  members  in  the  town  of  Cleve- 
land. Thus  they  went  at  the  close  of  day  on  shipboard  to 
teach  Indians,  many  of  whom  had  been  besotted  by  the 
white  traders'  liquor. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1825,  it  was  my  privilege  to  ac- 
company that  most  remarkable,  noble,  godly  man,  Rev. 
James  C.  Crane,  from  his  long  visit  to  the  Indians,  on  his 
return  home  to  New  York,  where  the  United  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society,  was  then  located,  of  which  he  was  Secre- 
tary, and  to  hear  him  preach  in  affliction  his  last  sermon. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      43 

at  Bedford,  on  the  text,  "  For  your  sakes  he  became  poor, 
that  ye  through  his  poverty  might  be  rich."  In  continu- 
ing our  journey  in  the  stage,  the  severe  cold  made  him 
worse  from  day  to  day,  so  that  when  he  arrived  at  New 
York,  he  lay  down  to  speak  in  partial  derangement  about 
the  Indians  and  to  die  and  go  to  his  rest.  This  event  cre- 
ated sympathy  for  his  bereaved  family,  and  general  sorrow 
in  the  Church. 

AFRICA. 

Joseph  W.,  son  of  Rev.  Thomas  Barr,  was  ordained  a 
missionary  in  1832,  to  Africa,  and  was  within  five  days  of 
sailing  from  Norfolk,  with  Rev.  J.  B.  Pinney,  to  Western 
Africa,  when  God's  swift  chariot,  the  Asiatic  cholera,  car- 
ried him  to  heaven.  The  father  wept  for  his  son  Joseph, 
and  many  kindred  and  friends  joined  in  the  sorrow. 

Other  brief  reminiscences  I  give  that  have  elicited  grati- 
tude and  sympathy,  without  giving  anything  like  a  full 
history. 

Rev.  John  Cloud  was  the  son  of  an  elder  in  my  neigh- 
boring congregation  of  Hopewell.  He  was  ardent  in  the 
attempt  to  help  Africa.  Just  before  he  sailed  he  delivered 
a  moving  address  to  my  people,  and  went  with  Mr.  Laird 
and  his  wife,  in  Nov.,  1833.  But  without  waiting  until  he 
would  become  acclimated,  he  exposed  himself  in  attempts 
to  benefit  the  people,  and  became  prostrated  with  the 
African  fever,  and  soon  died.  This  left  an  aged  father  and 
friends  to  mourn. 

INDIA. 

No  name  in  our  Church  has  given  more  cause  for  grati- 
tude, and  yet  excited  more  sympathetic  feeling,  than  that 
of  Lowrie.  I  knew  John  C.  as  a  devoted  student.  I  went 
with  him  on  the  Ohio  river,  in  1833,  when  he  was  visiting 
her  who  became  his  missionary  wife,  and  I  going  to  visit 
(at  the  request  of  Rev.  Dr.  Swift)  certain  Southern  Pres- 


44     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

byteries  to  iuterest  them  iu  our  "  Western  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society."  He,  Avith  Mr.  Reed  and  their  wives, 
were  the  first  to  go  for  us  to  India.  His  beloved  Louisa 
A.  left  the  delightful  home  of  her  father,  Mr.  Thomas 
Wilson,  of  Morgantowu,  to  devote  herself  as  a  missionary 
to  the  heathen;  but  it  pleased  God  to  take  her  away  a 
short  time  after  their  arrival  at  Calcutta.  Her  husband 
was  left  to  go  alone  in  his  missionary  service  and  explora- 
tions in  Northern  India,  till  his  health  failed  him.  Mr. 
Keed,  with  pulmonary  disease,  attempted  to  return  home, 
but  was  buried  in  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  and  his  wife  came 
back  to  Pittsburgh  a  widow.  Their  Christian  heroism  was 
the  means  of  exciting  a  missionary  spirit  in  the  churches 
at  home,  which  has  so  continued  that  an  increasing  and 
large  number  of  missionaries  now  occupy  different  parts  of 
India,  with  nearly  a  thousand  church  members  and  thou- 
sands of  pupils  in  schools.  It  has  spread  so  that  our  mis- 
sionaries occupy  other  countries,  not  without  sacrifices, 
calling  for  gratitude  that  some  have  been  willing  to  make 
them,  and  causing  sympathy  of  the  deepest  kind  for  those 
who  have  been  sutiferers. 

Walter  M.  Lowrie,  a  brother  of  John  C.  Lowrie,  making 
an  excursion  in  a  ship  in  the  China  seas,  to  spread  the 
gospel,  was  attacked  by  pirates,  and  when  sitting  on  his 
trunk  reading  was  hurled  by  them  into  the  ocean ;  and 
when  he  attempted  to  board  the  ship  again,  the  pirates 
pierced  him  with  pikes  unto  death,  and  his  blood  colored 
the  waters.  How  sad  was  this  to  the  heart  of  an  aged 
father,  who  had  leit  a  lucrative  position  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States  to  become  Secretary  of  our  Board 
of  Missions  in  1835,  and  continued  many  years  watching 
and  laboring  with  intense  seriousness  in  the  missionary 
work. 

Rev.   John     Ne^Yton,  a   small,    benevolent,    jr.undiced- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      45 

looking  young  man,  went  from  our  Seminary  as  the  others 
did.  He  was  accompanied  by  Rev.  James  Wilson.  Dr. 
Newton  has  been  very  much  blessed  with  sons,  who  with 
their  wives,  are  also  missionaries  in  India.  When  I  once 
met  the  pale-looking  little  man  traveling  the  Steubenville 
turnpike,  in  the  dust,  on  foot,  I  thought  he  could  scarcely 
endure  an  eastern  climate  as  a  missionary  for  any  length 
of  time.  The  Church  should  be  thankful  for  such  a  man 
and  his  wife,  with  such  a  family. 

CHINA. 

China,  at  the  beginning  of  our  foreign  operations  as  a 
Church,  lay  before  it  as  it  did  before  the  Christian  world, 
with  its  upward  of  three  hundred  million  people,  in  a  state 
of  heathenism.  It  was  inaccessible.  So  late  as  1830,  when 
Gutzlaff,  the  heroic  missionary  from  Basle,  approached  it, 
he  could  only  ascend  some  of  its  rivers  in  boats  and  throw 
out  tracts  upon  the  shore.  To  have  attempted  more  would 
have  been  to  sacrifice  his  life  to  the  violence  of  its  inhabit- 
ants. In  1834,  when  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly 
at  Philadelphia,  I  saw  Dr.  Abeel  ordained  as  a  medical 
missionary,  with  the  understanding  that  he  would  have  a 
dispensary,  especially  for  the  cure  of  opthalmia.  The 
Chinese,  it  was  thought,  would  receive  him  to  heal  inflamed 
eyes,  and  he  could  talk  the  gospel.  His  was  a  solitary  un- 
dertaking that  excited  sympathy.  Passing  by,  necessarily, 
missionaries  that  I  knew  elsewhere,  I  can  only  notice  some 
of  those  who  left  our  own  section  of  the  Church. 

Rev.  Robert  W.  Orr,  of  Clarion  county,  after  pursuing 
a  full  course  in  our  Theological  Seminary,  was  ordained  a 
missionary  to  China,  in  1837.  He  sailed  with  his  wife  for 
Singapore  in  December.  He  visited  the  neighboring 
islands,  aiming  to  do  good,  preparatory  to  a  permanent  lo- 
cation. His  health  failed  and  he  returned  to  his  native 
land.     All  this  first  excited  gratitude  that  he  was  willing 


46     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

to  consecrate  himself  to  God,  bat  it  likewise  created  sym- 
pathy in  the  family  of  his  venerable  father,  an  elder,  and 
in  the  minds  of  others,  and  was  a  great  trial  to  his  beloved 
wife.  To  him  the  disappointment  was  great.  AYhen 
j)reaching  in  my  pulpit,  adverting  to  the  trials  of  the  ser- 
vants of  God  in  foreign  lands,  he  came  to  speak  of  their 
learning  the  languages,  and  then  sometimes  when  about 
ready  to  preach,  becoming  broken  down  with  disease,  and 
at  this  utterance  he  was  overcome.  He  had  a  peaceful 
end  of  his  labors  in  March,  1857,  and  will  be  affectionately 
remembered  by  the  friends  of  missions  and  his  co-presby- 
ters in  these  Synods. 

Eev.  Joseph  S.  Travelli,  of  Sewickley,  a  missionary  of 
the  American  Board,  made  similar  efforts  to  Mr.  Orr, 
in  the  same  part  of  the  world,  and  they  terminated  much 
in  the  same  way ;  but  he  lives  to  do  good. 

A  treaty,  as  the  result  of  an  iniquitous  war  upon  the 
part  of  Great  Britain,  opened  the  way  for  the  introduction 
of  missionaries  into  China.  One  of  these  was  the  present 
Rev.  Dr.  A.  P.  Happer,  of  Canton.  I  remember  when  he 
came  a  youth  into  my  church,  and  spread  out  a  map  of  the 
laud  of  Sinim  (China)  and  lectured  from  prophecy  about 
it  in  his  modest  but  decisive  way,  which  made  us  feel  that 
he  was  in  earnest.  His  faith  in  God  and  his  promises  led 
him  to  go  an  unmarried  man  and  leave  a  widowed  mother 
in  Mingo  congregation.  The  Church  has  been  grateful  for 
his  early  and  long-continued  services,  and  sympathized 
with  those  that  felt  his  absence,  serving  the  Lord  as  a 
medical  man,  and  as  opener  of  the  eyes  both  of  the  bodies 
and  souls  of  the  Chinese.  When  he  was  in  this  country 
last,  grey  hairs  were  upon  him,  and  he  was  worn  in  the 
service  of  the  first  missionary  to  earth — Jesus.  Dr.  Happer 
is  assisted  by  his  wife  and  two  of  his  daughters  as  mission- 
aries, and  has  been  aided  by  his  son  Andrew,  now  at  Pe- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      47 

king,  and  thus  there  is  o-rouud  for  gratitude  that  he  has 
help  out  of  his  own  household,  like  Dr.  Newton,  in  India. 

Our  beloved  brother,  Dr.  William  Speer,  went  some 
years  since  to  China,  after  marrying  Miss  Brackenridge,  a 
choice  young  lady  of  Pittsburgh.  But  it  j^leased  God  to 
remove  her  from  earth,  not  long  after  their  arrival  at  Can- 
ton. His  health  failed,  and  it  was  necessary  that  he  should 
return  to  this  country.  After  serving  the  Church  as  Sec- 
retary of  the  Board  of  Education,  and  by  preaching,  his 
regard  for  the  people  of  China  remained,  and  he  visited 
California  and  labored  there  for  a  season,  and  then  again 
visited  China  itself,  and  is  now  promoting  its  interests.  All 
sympathized  with  him  in  the  early  loss  of  his  wife ;  still 
all  are  grateful  that  God  continues  him,  the  friend  of 
China,  when  our  citizens  and  the  government  are  in  danger 
of  doing  the  people  of  that  country  great  injustice. 

More  recently,  Kev.  David  N".  Lyon,  of  Wooster  Pres- 
bytery, left  his  widowed  mother  (Mrs.  Chidester)  and  mar- 
ried Miss  Doolittle,  who  also  left  her  widowed  mother,  and 
they  went  to  Hangchow  (the  city  that  was  nearly  destroyed 
by  the  rebellion  in  China),  and  have  been  useful  in  start- 
ing churches.  I  have  seen  these  widowed  mothers  in  their 
anxiety  about  those  who  had  forsaken  them  for  "  the  king- 
dom of  heaven's  sake."  Hope  bore  up  the  mother  of  Mr. 
Lyon  that  she  would  see  him  at  the  close  of  ten  years ;  but 
she  has  not  long  since  departed  to  "  a  better  country,"  and 
anxiety  is  ended.  There  is  not  ground  now  for  as  much 
anxiety  on  behalf  of  missionaries  as  when  the  first  ones 
went  out  to  sail  for  four  or  five  months,  on  dangerous  seas, 
without  the  use  of  steamships,  doubling  the  CajDe  of  Good 
Hope  to  reach  Asia. 

SIAM. 

Rev.  Jonathan  Wilson,  about  twenty  years  ago,  with  his 
youthful  wife  was  summoned,  while  w^e  were  together  at 


48     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

North  Branch  church,  to  prepare  to  sail  for  Siara.  He 
had  left  his  parents  in  Bethlehem  church,  where  I  had 
seen  him  in  his  childhood,  and  she  had  left  her  parents  in 
Ohio,  whom  I  knew  as  devoted  Christians.  He  hastily 
left  his  wife  in  my  care  for  a  short  time.  They  followed 
the  call  of  God  to  a  distant  foreign  land.  There,  in  the 
providence  of  God,  the  Asiatic  cholera  removed  Mrs.  Wil- 
son from  her  early  labors,  and  he  was  left  to  work  almost 
alone.  He  was  there  when  two  of  their  most  devoted 
converts  to  Christianity  suffered  a  cruel  martyrdom  with 
Christian  courage.  After  a  time  he  returned  to  this 
country  and  found  a  help-meet  in  the  daughter  of  Mr. 
McClure,  a  venerable  elder  at  Bethlehem.  After  a  few 
years,  his  and  her  health  failed  so  much  that  a  visit 
to  this  country  became  necessary.  She  remained  for  a 
time,  but  he  returned  to  Siam  and  left  her  to  recuperate 
farther  while  he  would  resume  his  foreign  work  among  the 
Laos  people  in  Siam.  In  Mr.  Wilson  and  wife  there  has 
been  self-denial  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven's  sake,  and 
ground  for  gratitude. 

At  Raccoon  church,  shortly  after.  Rev.  S.  G.  McFarland 
parted  with  a  numerous  congregation  and  his  mother,  and 
the  same  evening  a  large  assembly,  amidst  the  darkness, 
met  within  the  bounds  of  Miller's  Run  congregation  to 
hold  a  farewell  meeting  in  sympathy  with  Mrs.  McFar- 
land, the  daughter  of  elder  John  Hays,  and  sister  of  three 
brothers  in  the  ministry.  Such  tender  regard  for  her,  and 
interest  in  the  cause  of  missions  I  had  not  before  witnessed. 
Next  morning,  at  her  father's  house,  we  bade  Dr.  McFar- 
land and  his  wife  farewell  with  tears  of  gratitude  and 
prayer.  Since  his  visit  to  this  country  and  return,  he  is 
in  the  service  of  the  King  of  Siam,  as  Superintendent  of 
Education  in  the  kingdom ;  and  yet  they  both  can  further 
the  cause  of  missions  successfully. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.  49 

JAPAN. 

It  was  an  evening  of  interest  to  the  Synod  meeting  in 
the  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Pittsburgh,  when  Kev. 
David  Thompson,  a  pale-looking  youth,  unmarried  (who 
had  left  his  mother  in  Ohio),  was  ordained  a  missionary  to 
Japan.  He  was  among  the  first  that  we  sent  to  that  em- 
pire, just  opened  to  receive  preachers  and  teachers  at  cer- 
tain points.  It  was  something  as  Penn  said  about  the  set- 
tlement of  Pennsylvania,  "  a  holy  experiment."  The  edict 
against  Christianity  remained  unrepealed.  When  called 
by  my  Presbytery  to  give  the  charge  to  Mr.  Thompson,  I 
felt  it  to  be  so,  as  did  others  ;  but  afterwards  a  communi- 
cation from  him,  after  his  location  at  Yeddo,  gave  ground 
for  thankfulness.  All  the  results  there  have  since  been 
the  cause  of  great  gratitude  among  the  churches. 

The  event,  in  connection  with  our  missionary  efforts, 
which  caused  the  deepest  anxiety  and  sympathy,  was  the 
cruel  death  of  our  four  martyred  missionaries  and  their 
wives  in  India.  It  is  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  many  that 
these  eight  persons  were  cast  into  a  well  at  Cawnpore.  In 
us,  who  knew  the  smiling  and  benignant  face  of  little 
Maria  Bigham,  who  afterwards  became  Mrs.  Campbell,  the 
wife  of  one  of  them,  and  shared  that  terrible  death,  it  cre- 
ates a  thrill  of  horror  to  this  day. 

The  departure  of  other  foreign  missionaries,  from  this 
part  of  the  Church,  created  gratitude  and  excited  sympa- 
thy, such  as  that  of  Mr.  Mateer  and  Miss  Shaw  for  China ; 
and  Miss  Dickey,  the  daughter  of  that  excellent  Christian 
man,  Isaiah  Dickey ;  and  Miss  Ogden,  of  a  noted  good 
family,  for  India ;  and  Mr.  Schneider,  for  Brazil. 

Since  then,  Miss  Anna  R.  Davis  has  gone  to  Japan  from 
this  part  of  the  Ohurch,  and  others,  with  a  like  spirit  of 
doing  good,  have  gone  to  the  heathen  elsewhere. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Religious  Papers  up  to  1833. 

/7T\  s  religious  papers  are  so  necessary  to  promote  the  in- 
M  terests  of  the  Church,  intelligent  readers  will   cheer- 
jL  _Lfully  peruse  some  recollections  of  the  difficulties  en- 
countered in  their  origin  and  progress. 

The  object  at  first  of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  was,  not 
to  secure  a  weekly  paper,  but  a  monthly  magazine. 
"  Twelve  members  were  chosen  to  be  the  editors  thereof.'^ 
A  committee  of  three  of  them  were  to  have  "  the  special 
superintendeucy,"  viz. :  Rev.  John  McMillan,  Thomas 
Moore,  and  John  Anderson.  As  this  was  in  1802,  none  as 
yet  had  received  the  title  D.  D.  Both  were  country  pas- 
tors blessed  with  revivals,  and  both  of  them  have  been 
well  known  as  ministers  and  instructors.  My  personal 
knowledge  of  Mr.  Moore  was  limited,  only  having  heard 
him  preach  a  fervid  sermon  with  flowing  tears,  in  Dr.  Mc- 
Millan's pulpit,  when  both  were  aged  men.  They  were, 
no  doubt,  adapted  to  the  work,  for  the  following  year  a 
motion  was  made  in  Synod  to  reward  them,  but  they  de- 
clined. Mr.  Ralston  was  added  to  the  managing  commit- 
tee, and  Mr.  Swan  became  one  of  the  twelve  editors.  The 
Western  Magazine  was  the  first  of  their  labors,  which  had 
an  existence  for  a  few  years,  but  not  a  paper  of  general  re- 
ligious intelligence.  Some  other  attempts  to  publish  peri- 
odicals, much  in  the  same  way,  were  made  in  other  parts 
of  the  Church,  but  they  were  not  longer  lived  than  the 
magazine  from  Washington,  Pa. 

50 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.  5  I 

THE   WEEKLY   RECORDER. 

The  first  religious  newspaper  published  in  the  United 
States  was  at  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  in  July,  1814,  by  Rev. 
John  Andrews,  entitled  the  Weekly  Recorder,  in  quarto 
form.  For  a  time  it  was  the  only  weekly  messenger  to  the 
churches.  After  some  time,  the  Bosto7i  Recorder,  by  Mr. 
Willis,  became  the  vehicle  of  intelligence,  especially  to  the 
Kew  England  churches.  Still  later,  the  Neiv  York  Ob- 
server was  published  by  the  Messrs,  Morse,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Church  at  large.  Though  the  Weekly  Recorder  had 
for  its  field  of  circulation  the  whole  territory  west  of  the 
mountains,  yet  a  large  part  of  it  was  a  wilderness,  and 
even  a  large  part  of  Ohio  up  to  1821.  The  people  had 
not  yet  generally  felt  the  need  of  such  an  assistant  to  fam- 
ily instruction ;  and  the  religious  intelligence  from  foreign 
countries  was  not  large.  The  Missionary  Herald,  pub- 
lished at  Boston,  was  the  special  organ  of  the  American 
Board,  but  did  not  meet  the  wants  of  a  weekly  paper  for 
our  western  churches.  The  Weekly  Recorder  being  poorly 
supported,  and  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  feeling  the  need 
of  an  organ  of  intelligence  in  their  midst.  Rev.  John  An- 
drews was  received  as  a  corresponding  member  from  the 
Synod  of  Ohio.  A  committee,  composed  of  Rev.  Messrs. 
Elisha  P.  Swift,  Elisha  Macurdy,  Francis  Herron,  Wm. 
Speer,  and  Thomas  E.  Hughes,  was  appointed  "  to  inquire 
into  the  expediency  of  establishing  a  periodical  publication 
of  religious  intelligence,  under  the  sanction  and  patronage 
of  this  Synod,  designed  to  disseminate  religious  information 
to  the  churches  under  our  care."  The  committee  reported, 
and  after  considerable  discussion,  the  report  was  recom- 
mitted to  the  committee.  The  resolutions  of  Synod  laid 
the  foundation  for  the 

THE  PITTSBURGH   RECORDER, 

which  was  soon  published  in  folio  form  and  took  the  place 


52     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

of  the  Weekly  Recorder  at  Chillicothe.  At  Pittsburgh,  it 
probably  had  a  more  extended  circulation ;  but  religion 
was  confessedly  in  a  low  state  for  a  few  years  in  the 
churches,  with  some  exceptions;  and  when  it  is  so, 
people  have  no  great  desire  for  religious  intelligence.  Mr. 
Andrews  had  the  piety  and  intelligence  for  his  work  as 
editor,  but  was  wanting  in  courage — or  audacity,  I  might 
call  it — and  was  too  poor  to  go  into  great  expenditures. 

THE  CHRISTIAN    HERALD. 

In  1828,  Rev.  John  Andrews  expressed  his  desire  to  the 
Synod  to  transfer  the  Recorder,  then  called  the  Spectator, 
into  other  hands.  No  member  of  the  Synod  appeared 
willing  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  purchasing  it  and 
becoming  its  editor.  Some  members  spoke  to  me  on  the 
subject.  Eev.  Dr.  Brown,  with  one  of  the  significant  ges- 
tures of  his  head,  said:  "You  can  take  it,  and  if  you  do 
break  up  you  can  still  preach."  The  arrangement  to  pur- 
chase from  Mr.  Andrews  was  made.  Synod  adopted  reso- 
lutions recommending  the  change,  and  Rev.  Messrs.  Swift 
and  Hoge  "  were  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  an  ad- 
dress to  the  public  on  the  importance  of  sustaining  and  ex- 
tending the  influence  of  said  publication." 

My  services  at  AVashington,  under  interesting  circum- 
stances, were  brought  to  a  close.  I  resolved  to  call  the 
paper  the  Christian  Herald,  in  view  of  the  great  work  of 
aiding  to  proclaim  the  gospel.  The  Synod  of  1828  had 
taken  vigorous  measures  to  promote  Domestic  and  Foreign 
Missions  conjointly ;  to  promote  the  cause  of  education  for 
the  ministry  ;  to  sustain  the  then  new  Western  Theological 
Seminary  ;  to  protect  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath ;  and  had 
adopted  a  strong  paper  recommending  total  abstinence 
from  ardent  spirits,  and  urged  special  means  to  promote  a 
revival  of  religion,  which  had  already  occurred  in  some 
congregations.     All  these  measures  I  felt  heartily  desirous 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      53 

to  sustain  by  the  paper.  The  first  number  was  sent  out 
early  in  January,  1829,  and  I  soon  made  the  annunciation 
of  a  determination,  at  all  hazards,  to  sustain  the  temper- 
ance cause,  which  was  still  opposed  by  some  men  of  influ- 
ence. The  result  was  that,  before  the  close  of  the  year, 
some  ordered  discontinuance,  on  the  ground  that  there  was 
too  much  said  about  liquor.  The  battle  was  still  to  be 
fought  against  strong  drink,  as  well  as  against  wine  and 
malt  liquor.  As  editors  expect  now  thousands  of  sub- 
scribers, so  I  should  have  had,  but  I  began  with  four  hun- 
dred and  forty-seven.  Trusting  that  Providence  would 
sustain  a  good  cause,  we  went  forward,  intending,  if  we 
did  "  break  up,"  it  should  be  after  an  honest  etfort.  This 
led  me  to  the  Synod  at  Zanesville,  and  my  friend,  Allen  C. 
Miller,  who  became  a  useful  minister,  to  make  many  a 
severe  ride.  Pastors  and  other  friends  sustained  us,  so 
that  we  lived,  but  made  nothing  beyond  expenses.  Rev. 
J.  F.  Halsey,  D.D.,  with  all  his  vigor  and  ardor  in  the 
cause  of  the  Redeemer,  became  assistant  editor  for  a  time. 
Mr.  Harvey  Newcomb  superintended  the  printing,  and 
afterwards  became  the  writer  of  various  Sabbath  School 
books.  Subsequently,  those  excellent  men,  D.  and  M. 
Maclean,  became  partners  and  publishers,  and  I  alone  the 
editor.  During  this  period,  I  also  had  charge  of  two  con- 
gregations, Was  editor  of  the  Presbyterian  Preacher,  and 
was  often  called  to  help  the  sick,  and  still  occasionally  suf- 
fering from  the  labors  of  previous  years  in  Ohio ;  and  be- 
fore the  beginning  of  1833,  I  relinquished  all  connection 
with  the  Christian  Herald.  Further,  I  could  not  publish 
articles  against  brethren  in  the  Church,  which  I  knew 
were  not  strictly  true,  though  the  authors  of  them  thought 
they  were  ;  nor  aid  in  taking  divisory  measures,  which  the 
Church  has  repented  of  since. 
5* 


54  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

OTHER    PAPERS, 

such  as  were  published  by  other  denominations,  I  cannot 
take  time  to  notice.  The  New  York  Evangelist  made  its 
appearance  about  the  beginning  of  1830,  edited  by  Mr. 
Leavitt,  with  some  changes  afterwards ;  the  Presbyterian. 
about  1831,  the  editor  being  Mr.  Burt,  in  Philadelphia. 
The  Fhiladelphian,  edited  by  Dr.  Ely,  about  this  time  was 
looked  upon,  by  some,  as  sustaining  what  have  been  called 
New  School  doctrine  and  usages.  Eventually  it  became 
connected  with  the  Richmond  Telegraph  and  Visitor,  ed- 
ited by  Mr.  Converse.  The  Charleston  Observer  was  edited 
by  Mr.  Gildersleeve.  The  paper  at  Hudson,  called  the 
Ohio  Observer,  was  a  portion  of  the  time  edited  by  my  old 
minister  at  Cleveland,  Rev.  Stephen  I.  Bradstreet.  The 
Banner  of  Truth  was  in  newspaper  form,  though  it  had  a 
special  object  to  accomplish,  viz.,  the  maintenance  of  the 
truth  against  Campbellism.  The  author  of  that  system 
issued  a  periodical,  properly  called,  in  one  aspect,  the 
milennial  Harbinger.  The  apostle  says,  in  the  third 
chapter  of  Timothy,  that  "  in  the  last  days  "  "  evil  men 
and  seducers  shall  wax  worse  and  worse,  deceiving  and 
being  deceived."  This  Harbinger  and  its  advocates  of  re- 
ceiving "  the  gospel  in  the  water,"  vexed  the  churches  in 
Kentucky  and  elsewhere.  Old  Dr.  Clelaud  erected  his 
Banner  oj  Truth,  and  the  discharges  that  went  forth  from 
it  shook  the  system  built  upon  the  sand  and  the  water. 

I  do  not  know  of  anyone  now  living  who  was  a  cotem- 
porary  editor  with  me. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Recollections  of  Books  and  Tracts — Eaely  Efforts 
TO  Obtain  Books — The  Synod  Resolves  to  Secure 
Tracts — In  What  AVay  They  were  Used — Those 
Adapted  to  Cure  Infidelity — By  the  Presbyte- 
rian Board — By  the  American  Tract  Society — 
Books  by  Able  Writers. 

,HE  Presbyterian  Church,  through  its  highest  judica- 
tory, made  limited  arrangements  for  the  circulation  of 
__  a  few  books  as  early  as  1772.  Then  eight  old  books, 
including  the  Bible,  were  proposed  and  agreed  to  be  pro- 
cured and  distributed.  For  this  purpose  committees  of  min- 
isters and  elders  were  appointed  at  Philadelphia  and  New 
York,  who  were  "  restricted  not  to  lay  out  this  year  above 
ten  pounds  provincial  currency."  In  1824,  the  General  As- 
sembly spoke  of  Sabbath  Schools  as  "  the  most  useful  and 
blessed  institution  of  the  present  day,"  and  patronized  the 
circulation  of  the  American  Sunday  School  Union  books. 
In  1829,  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  felt  the  need  of  some- 
thing being  published,  that  was  more  distinctly  Presbyte- 
rian, and  therefore,  "  Resolved,  that  the  Rev.  Prof  Halsey, 
the  Rev.  Messrs.  E.  P.  Swift,  and  S.  C.  Jennings  be  a  com- 
mittee to  inquire  into  the  best  mode  of  obtaining  and  cir- 
culating tracts  on  the  distinguishing  doctrines  and  discipline 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  that  they  report  at  the 
next  meeting  of  Synod."  "  The  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Publication  "  went  into  operation  in  1838.  Thus  a  full 
foundation  was  laid  for  Presbyterians  to  carry  on  the  work 

55 


56     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

of  the  Lord  by  propagating  their  peculiarities  through 
books  and  tracts.  This  did  not  prevent  using  the  publica- 
tions of  the  American  Tract  Society,  which  was  organized 
in  1825,  and  the  lending  of  the  small  volumes  in  the  pos- 
session of  those  who  were  aiming  to  "  convert  the  sinner 
from  the  error  of  his  way,"  and  work  while  it  was  day. 

IN    W^HAT   W^AY   TRACTS   WERE     USED. 

Christian  women  did  something  in  their  circulation 
monthly  and  irregularly.  They  had  some  of  the  religious 
policy  to  win  to  the  choice  of  Christ,  that  the  politician 
has  of  a  secular  nature,  to  win  to  his  party.  Ministers, 
awake  to  every  means  of  usefulness,  circulated  them  when 
traveling,  especially  in  destitute  settlements.  AVithout 
always  having  time  to  speak  to  the  families,  they  gave 
these  leaves  of  truth  "  for  the  healing  of  the  nations."  As 
persons  of  diiferent  sentiments  sometimes  furnish  each 
other  with  something  to  read,  so  may  a  pastor  provide  his 
parishioners  with  sanctified  literature,  or  a  minister  his 
flock  with  such  reading  matter  as  will  increase  his  useful- 
ness. This  I  propose  to  exemplify  in  the  case  of  the  dis- 
tribution of  tracts  to  skeptics. 

A  distinguished  theological  professor  remarked  lately 
that  "skepticism  is  in  the  air."  As  the  electric  fluid  puri- 
fies, so  will  the  diflPusion  of  the  truth  correct  the  poisonous 
infidelity  that  is  in  circulation.  People  must  be  convinced 
that  the  Bible  is  true.  Energetic  ministers  and  active 
Christians  who  are  at  work  will  be  obliged  for  a  farther 
knowledge  of  tracts. 

First.  Those  published  by  our  Board  of  Publication. 
No.  32,  "  Conversion  of  the  Earl  of  Rochester,"  pp.  32. 
No.  141,  "  Universalist's  Deathbed,"  pp.  8.  No.  217,  "Uni- 
versalism  Renounced,"  pp.  4.  No.  58,  "  Universal  Salva- 
tion," by  Rev.  M.  W.  Jacobus,  D.D.,  18mo,  pp.  40.  No. 
6d,  "  Inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,"  by  Rev.  F.  T.  Brown, 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      57 

pp.  36.  No.  87,  "  There  is  a  Hell ;  the  Testimony  of  a 
DyiDg  Infidel,"  pp.  8.  No.  105,  "  Kun,  Speak  to  that 
Young  Man,"  pp.  22.  No.  144,  "  The  Infidel  Converted," 
by  Kev.  Seldeu  Haines,  pp.  8,  published  in  1872.  ''  Farmer 
Tomkins  and  his  Bibles,"  by  Professor  Willis  J.  Beecher, 
of  Auburn  Seminary.  "  The  Day  Changed  and  the  Sab- 
bath preserved,"  by  Rev.  A.  A.  Hodge,  D.D.,  price  3  cts. 

In  the  French  language :  "  Unbeliever's  Deathbed," 
suitable  for  skeptical  readers  as  a  tract.  "  The  Lord's 
Day,"  by  Rev.  Adolph  Monod,  of  France,  price  5  cts. 

In  the  German:  "The  Bible  True,"  by  Dr.  Joseph 
Franz  UUiok,  18mo.  This  little  book  contains  just  such 
truths  as   the  German  population  of  our  great  cities  need. 

The  American  Tract  Society,  composed  of  persons  be- 
longing to  all  evangelical  denominations,  has  published 
many  tracts  bearing  upon  infidelity,  in  different  lan- 
guages. 

First.  "  One  Hundred  Arguments  for  the  Divinity  of 
Christ,"  pp.  36.  No.  286,  "Believer's  Dying  Testimony." 
No.  192.  "  The  Bible  of  Divine  Origin,"  by  Dr.  Brownlee, 
pp,  40.  No.  477,  "  Napoleon's  Arguments  for  the  Divinity 
of  Christ."  No.  549,  "  John  Colby,  Brother-in-law  of  D. 
AVebster."  No.  351,  "  Infidel  Reclaimed,"  pp.  8.  No.  376, 
"  The  Infidel's  Creed,"  pp.  8.  No.  484,  "  The  Infidel  Re- 
stored," pp.  4.  No.  383,  "  Conversion  of  an  Aged  Deist," 
pp.  8.  No.  274,  "  The  Scotsman's  Fireside,"  an  authentic 
narrative,  pp.  8.  No.  190,  "Deaths  of  Hume  and  Finley 
Compared,"  pp.  20.  No.  330,  "  Infidel  Objections  Alleged 
Against  Historicel  Parts  of  the  Old  Testament,"  pp.  24. 
No.  123,  "  The  Substance  of  Leslie's  Method  with  the 
Deists,"  pp.  28.  "  Watson's  Reply  to  Paine,"  a  small  vol- 
ume with  notices  of  Hume's  denial  of  miracles,  and  of  West 
on  the  Resurrection. 

Second.     In   German,  the  following;  '•  Watson's  Rejoly 


58     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

to  Paine."  "Why  Does  Your  Priest  Forbid  You  to 
Read  the  Bible,"  pp.  8.  No.  91,  "  Conversion  of  an  Aged 
Deist,"  pp.  8.  No.  106,  "  Ullman's  Evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity," pp.  20.  No.  126,  "Leslie's  Method  with  the 
Deists,"  pp.  8.  No.  161,  "  Communism  and  Christianity," 
pp.  16. 

Third.  In  French,  the  following:  No.  40,  "The  Infidel 
Convinced  by  a  Child,"  pp.  8.  No.  22, "  Difference  Between 
the  Catholic  and  Protestant,"  pp.  16. 

"  Memoir  of  Dr.  Batemen,"  An  account  of  a  conversion 
from  infidelity.  No.  154,  pp.  12.  "  Memoir  of  Dr.  John 
D.  Godman,  Professor  of  Anatomy,"  who  died  at  Philadel- 
phia; prepared  by  Dr.  Sewall,  of  AYashington  City.  This 
tract,  as  the  other,  is  well  adapted  to  be  useful  to  physi- 
cians, and  is  No.  370,  pp.  24.  "  Where  Did  He  Get  That 
Law?"  A  narrative  of  a  skeptical  lawyer,  &c.,  No,  321, 
pp.  4.  "  The  Unanswerable  Argument,"  which  won  an 
aged  lawyer  to  Christ.  No.  440.  "  The  Horrors  of  Re- 
morse." A  narrative  of  a  young  lawyer  who  embraced  in- 
fidelity, but  saw  the  enormity  of  his  sin  and  became  a  living 
Christian.  No.  495,  pp.  4.  This,  with  "  Leslie's  Short 
Method  with  the  Deist's,"  may  be  useful  to  skeptical  law- 
yers. "  The  General's  Widow,"  by  the  late  W.  C.  Brown- 
lee,  D.D.,  would  be  useful  to  unbelieving  ladies  in  high 
life.  No.  287,  pp.  32.  The  four-page  tract  called,  "Don't 
Unchain  the  Tiger,"  should  be  scattered  by  thousands  to 
benefit  commqn  unbelievers.  It  contains  Franklin's  advice 
to  Paine.  To  stop  infidelity  most  successfully  we  must 
stop  the  sale  of  liquor. 

Those  who  wish  to  obtain  a  masterpiece  against  the 
phases  of  modern  infidelity,  especially  as  advocated  by 
men  called  scientists  ;  1.  Procure  the  "  Fables  of  Infidelity 
and  Facts  of  Faith,"  as  set  forth  by  Robert  Patterson, 
D.  D.     In  a  brief  way  he  causes  the  specious  appearances 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      59 

of  pretenders  to  vanish.  2.  For  the  benefit  of  young  men, 
obtain  "  A  Young  Man's  Difficulties  with  his  Bible,"  by 
D.  W.  Faunce,  D.D.,  containing  196  pages. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Mode  of  Worship — Not  Itching  Ears — Not  Irrev- 
erence FOR  God  and  His  Worship — Insubordina- 
tion. 

/"TA^he  work  was  not  much  hindered  by  those  professing 
submission  to  Christ.  Not  many  such  had  what  the 
Apostle  calls  "itching  ears";  that  is,  "endless  curiosity"; 
an  insatiable  desire  of  variety — abandoning  the  good  and 
faithful  preacher  for  the  "  fine  speaker,"  whose  teachings 
often  please  the  unrenewed  and  tolerate  indulgences  and 
gratify  those  who  wish  rather  to  be  entertained  than  sanc- 
tified through  the  truth,  to  be  amused  than  profited.  The 
gospel  was  received  as  a  message  from  God.  Ministers  did 
not  in  cities  and  towns  have  to  bring  some  "  new  thing," 
and  foster  a  taste  for  philosophy  or  "  science  falsely  so- 
called,"  and  were  not  asked  for  preachers  like  Henry 
Ward  Beecher ;  one  of  whose  discourses  I  found  among 
the  tracts  which  a  society  of  unbelievers  had  gathered  for 
circulation  to  promote  infidelity.  Something  of  this  spirit 
showed  itself  among  unbelievers,  but  true  members  of  the 
Church  did  not  exhibit  a  desire  for  what  is  called  "  ad- 
vance thought,"  which  is  made  up  of  fables,  both  unrea- 
sonable and  unscriptural.  There  were  a  few  of  the  earlier 
residents  within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod,  in  circumstances 
of  wealth,  who  did  not  care  to  hear  anyone  preach,  ordina- 
rily. Their  love  for  brandy  kept  them  in  retirement  on  the 
Lord's  day,  and  their  want  of  taste  for  the  true  gospel. 
Occasionally  they  might  be  induced  to  hear.     As  in  one 

60 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      6 1 

instance,  a  man  of  some  distinction  understood  that  one 
who  had  been  an  eminent  lawyer  had  relinquished  his  lu- 
crative practice  to  preach,  said  he  would  go  and  hear  him ; 
but  when  the  service  was  over,  said  his  preaching  was  like 
the  others,  about  Christ.  Generally  the  professed  members 
were  steadfast  in  hearing  their  chosen  pastors. 

IPwREVERENCE    FOR    GOD    AND   HIS   W^ORSHIP 

Was  not  usual.  Our  "  Directory  for  Worship,"  requiring 
the  abstaining  from  all "  indecent  behaviour,"  w^as  followed. 
There  was  not  much  "  outward  adorning "  to  attract  one 
another ;  but  a  feeling  generally  that  God  must  be  wor- 
shipped "  in  the  beauty  of  holiness."  Amusement  and 
laughing  in  leaving  the  place  of  worship  was  not  much 
practiced.  Consequently  the  "  wicked  one  "  did  not  have 
much  opportunity  to  catch  "  the  Avord  sown  in  the  heart." 
From  want  of  a  suitable  house  of  worship  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per was  often  celebrated  in  the  grove.  That  which  might 
be  irreverent  in  some  country  churches  was  not  so  in  inten- 
tion. Farmers  worn  out  with  toil,  in  warm  weather,  would 
rise  from  their  seats  and  remain  standing  to  drive  away 
sleep  and  that  they  might  hear  the  word.  This  I  saw  in 
my  grandfather's  congregation,  and  still  later  in  that  of 
Dr.  McMillan's,  who,  Keing  a  corpulent  man,  occasionally 
when  preaching  in  warm  weather,  divested  himself  of  his 
dress  coat.  There  was  then,  what  cannot  be  excused  at 
any  time,  the  use  of  tobacco  in  the  house  of  God. 

INSUBORDIXATIOX. 

The  early  Presbyterians  of  Western  Pennsylvania  knew 
how  to  value  liberty  of  conscience ;  but  having  a  form  of 
government  that  authorized  them  to  choose  their  rulers 
and  pastors,  they  also  learned  to  "  obey  those  that  have  the 
rule  over  you,"  as  Paul  directs,  and  to  take  Peter's  advice, 
"  all  of  you  be  subject,  one  to  another./  They  learned  it 
also  from  the  Catechism  in  which  they  were  diligently  in- 


62     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

striicted.  Those  who  were  "  overtaken  in  a  fault,"  of  which 
there  was  evidence,  usually  submitted  to  discipline,  as  one 
of  God's  ordinances.  A  good  deal  of  this  was  done  in  con- 
nection with  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors,  then  so  common. 
As  a  spirit  of  love  and  humility  prevailed,  they  volunta- 
rily carried  out  the  direction,  "  in  honor  preferring  one  an- 
other." Some  elders  w^ere  better  qualified  for  the  duties  of 
the  office  than  others,  and  their  associates  would  urge  them 
forward.  But  there  did  not  appear  to  be  many  of  the  spirit 
of  Diotrephes,  loving  "  to  have  the  pre-eminence."  I  knew 
well  the  Sessions  of  many  churches  in  the  towns  and  coun- 
try, and  I  do  not  now  recollect  any  individual  that  wished 
to  be  considered  "  the  leading  man."  There  may  have, 
been  some  who  had  that  well  known  character,  called  John 
Johnston,  but  certainly  elders  of  that  kind  were  not  nu- 
merous— men  puffed  up,  willing  to  divide  a  church  that 
they  might  come  into  notice.  Elders  of  the  greatest  men- 
tal acquirements,  about  fifty  years  ago,  were  not  of  that  de- 
scription. Such  as  Charles  Porter,  of  Dunlap's  Creek,. 
Thomas  Henry,  of  Beaver,  John  Reynolds,  of  Meadville,. 
David  Hoge  and  Judge  Hallock,  of  Steubenville,  John  M. 
SnoAvden  and  Harmar  Denny,  of  Pittsburgh,  and  John 
Hannen  and  David  Maclean  and  Judge  Grier,  of  Alle- 
gheny City.  The  elders  were  generally  men  of  excellence 
and  humility,  and  useful,  especially  in  the  quarters  of  the 
congregation  assigned  to  their  supervision ;  visiting  the 
sick  and  aged,  and  reclaiming  the  wandering,  and  yet  ex- 
amples of  subordination. 

For  forty  or  fifty  years  out  of  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
four,  I  think  there  were  but  two  or  three  ministers  that 
were  subjects  of  discipline,  and  that  upon  their  own  confes- 
sion. The  unhapj^y  division  of  the  whole  Church  showed 
great  imperfections,  over  which  some  mourned  before  they 
left  the  world.  And  there  was  general  submission  to  the 
laws  of  God's  house. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

History  of  Temperance  Legislation  in  England — 
In  the  Time  of  William  Penn  —  Licensing  and 
Drinking  in  the  Eighteenth  Century  —  In  the 
Nineteenth — How  the  Act  of  1846  was  Approved 
AND  Repealed — How  the  Local  Option  Law  was 
Carried  and  Repealed — Great  Mistakes. 

/~T~\he  judges  in  England  discovered  that  both  crime  and 
pauperism  were  caused  by  strong  drink.  On  proper 
representations  to  Parliament,  a  restrictive  license  sys- 
tem was  adopted.  To  make  it  more  effectual,  in  the  reign 
of  Edward  HI.,  it  was  so  enforced  that  only  three  licensed 
houses  were  permitted  in  the  city  of  London. 

The  license  system  of  England  was  brought  to  this  coun- 
try by  the  English  colonists.  It  became  a  part  of  our 
colonial  laws.  We  inherited  it  as  we  did  slavery.  Penn- 
sylvanians  early  manifested  love  for  whiskey. 

THE   TIME  OF  WILLIAM    PENN. 

Spirituous  liquors  were  not  used  as  a  beverage  on  the 
good  ship  Welcome,  with  William  Penn.  It  was  no  part  of 
the  "  Holy  Experiment."  In  the  great  law,  comprising  a 
general  system  of  jurisprudence,  adopted  at  Upland,  Dec. 
4,  1682,  "Drunkenness,  encouragement  of  drunkenness, 
drinking  or  pledging  of  health,  were  punished  by  fine  and 
imprisonment."  [See  Proud's  History  of  Pennsylvania,  p. 
71.]  The  authority  of  this  law  Penn  farther  endeavored 
to  establish  by  argument.  Said  he :  "  Strong  liquors  are 
good  at  some  times  and  in  some  proportions  ;  being  better 
for  physic  than  for  food,  for  cordials  than  for  common  use." 

63 


64     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

To  make  the  pernicious  article  as  scarce  and  dear  as  possi- 
ble, he  was  in  favor  of  laying  a  heavy  impost  on  '  strong 
spirits  and  liquors.'  "  "  The  great  and  good  Onas,  as  the 
Indians  called  William  Penn,  labored  to  protect  them 
against  the  evil — now  appealing  to  the  humanity  of  the 
w  hites  and  again  to  the  good  sense  of  the  Indians  them- 
selves." In  1773,  at  the  treaty,  the  Indians  said  at  Car- 
lisle :  "  The  rum  ruins  us.  We  desire  it  may  be  forbidden, 
and  never  sold  in  the  Indian  country."  But  no  restrictions 
by  any  Governor  prevented  its  use. 

Various  pleas  prevailed,  so  to  legislate  that  some  use  of 
drink  should  be  "permitted."  The  medicinal  value  of 
spiritual  liquors  was  the  entering  wedge  of  the  great  evil. 
The  air  of  this  hot  climate  was  deemed  unhealthy.  Our 
first  adventurers  must  have  something  in  the  form  of  a 
"  preventive."  They  said :  "  The  limestone  water  contained 
some  noxious  quality,  and  not  unfrequently  sudden  deaths 
occurred  after  drinking  it ;  they  must  find  a  substitute  or 
'  corrective.'  In  the  autumn,  fever  and  ague  prevailed  ; 
spikenard  infused  in  spirits  was  an  excellent  remedy.  The 
natural  small  pox  was  very  severe,  and  a  kind  of  spirits 
distilled  out  of  molasses  and  imported  from  New  England 
was  administered  in  various  forms  and  esteemed  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  unhappy  patients.  The  nurses  and  at- 
tendants, too,  were  recommended  to  use  drams,  either  raw 
or  sweetened,  or  mixed  with  bitters,  as  antidotes  against 
offensive,  infectious  smells."  [See  John  Watson's  Obser- 
vations, p.  6.] 

Once  admitted  as  a  medicine,  the  use  of  spirituous 
liquors  speedily  began  to  justify  itself  as  a  custom.  Every 
convenient  opportunity  that  would  serve  as  an  excuse  for 
its  introduction  was  but  too  readily  embraced.  Not  among 
the  Quakers,  for  it  was  contrary  to  their  discipline.  "  If 
any  should  distill  spirits  out  of  grain,  or  retail  such 
liquors,  monthly  meetings   would   deal  with  them  as  with 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      65 

Other  offenders  ;  and  if  they  cannot  be  prevailed  with  to 
desist  from  such  a  practice,  be  at  liberty  to  declare  their 
disunity  with  them." 

LICENSING  AND  DRINKING  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY. 

"  The  Blue  Anchor  Tavern,"  where  Penn  landed,  was 
destined  to  have  a  numerous  and  most  discreditable  pro- 
geny. At  first,  indeed,  the  keeping  of  taverns  was  re- 
stricted to  widows,  and  occasionally  to  decrepit  men  of 
good  character.  But  soon  the  tavern-keeper  degenerated 
into  a  rumseller,  and  these  houses  were  evidently  regarded 
with  suspicion. 

According  to  Watson  I.,  p.  463,  as  early  as  1710  it  was 
enacted  that  no  person  shall  keep  any  public  inn,  tavern, 
ale  house,  tippling  house,  or  dram  shop,  victualing  house 
or  public  house  of  entertainment,  unless  he  first  be  recom- 
mended by  the  Quarter  Sessions  to  the  Governor  f )r  his 
license.  In  1721  an  additional  act  protected  minors  and 
servants.  In  1744  the  grand  jury  presented  the  enormous 
increase  of  public  houses  as  a  great  nuisance.  In  1763 
application  was  made  to  the  Governor  for  regulating  tav- 
erns; that  one  only  should  be  found  in  such  a  defined  dis- 
tance, or  in  proportion  to  so  many  inhabitants ;  that  the 
bar-room  should  be  closed  on  the  Sabbath.     [See  ^^atson, 

p.  101.] 

Before  this,  in  1723,  a  bill  was  reported  in  the  house  of 
Assembly  for  the  encouragement  of  distilleries  within  the 
province;  but  such  was  the  opposition  made  to  it,  that  the 
Governor,  Sir  William  Keith,  would  not  give  it  his  assent. 
"  The  evil  might  be  tolerated,  but  the  community  were  not 
willing  to  endorse  and  perpetuate  it." 

On  the  27th  of  February,  1774,  the  first  Continenlal 
Congress,  then  assembled  in  Philadelphia,  passed  the  fol- 
lowing resolution  :  "  Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to 

the  several  Legislatures  of  the  United   States  immediately 
6* 


66     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

to  pass  laws  the  most  effectual  for  putting  a  stop  to  the 
pernicious  practice  of  distilling,  by  which  the  most  exten- 
sive evils  are  likely  to  be  derived,  if  not  quickly  pre- 
vented." 

Before  the  Colonies  made  their  struggle  with  the  mother 
country  for  their  independence,  the  manufacture  of  liquor 
out  of  grain  was  not  profitable.  West  India  rum  had  been 
imported  to  a  destructive  extent.  The  war  cut  off  the 
ruinous  supply,  and  the  people  engaged  in  a  home  trade  in 
whiskey.  The  waste  of  grain  was  enormous,  and  there 
was  prospect  of  a  famine.  There  was  general  alarm.  The 
distilleries  engaged  in  selling  small  quantities  as  w'ell  as 
large.  The  ministers  had  spoken  against  the  maddening 
draughts,  obtained  so  cheaply  for  near  a  century  ;  but  they 
found  a  new  enemy  at  home,  They  were  aided  in  their 
opposition  to  the  manufacture  of  grain  into  ardent  spirits, 
by  such  patriots  as  Dr.  Franklin,  David  Rittenhouse,  John 
Dickinson,  and  that  remarkable  philanthropist,  Anthony 
Benezet.  His  funeral  was  the  largest  that  had  ever  been 
seen  in  Philadelphia.  At  length,  in  1779,  the  Legislature 
put  a  stop  to  distillation  out  of  grain. 

LEGISLATION    IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

In  1794,  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush,  of  Philadelphia,  published 
his  convincing  essay — "  An  Inquiry  into  the  nature  of  ar- 
dent spirits  and  their  effects  on  the  body  and  mind."  It 
produced  serious  consideration  and  some  grand  results.  He 
presented  to  the  General  Assembly  one  thousand  copies, 
and  the  members  appointed  a  committee  of  investigation, 
composed  of  our  oldest  ministers,  who  reported  on  the  sub- 
ject the  following  year,  and  various  important  reso- 
lutions were  adopted  and  recommended  to  the  churches. 
There  had  been  other  able  and  valuable  tracts  put  into 
circulation;  but  there  was  no  very  decisive  legislation 
adopted  during  the  first  part  of  the  century.     The  people 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.     67 

became  occupied  in  the  war  with  Great  Britain.  Various 
publications,  however,  prepared  the  public  mind  to  take 
measures  in  the  future  ;  and  the  pulpit  still  offered  some 
disapprobation  of  the  state  of  things.  Eventually  societies 
were  organized  and  conventions  called,  upon  which  fol- 
lowed some  legislation. 

From  1840  to  1850  there  were  twenty-seven  acts  of  the 
Legislature  passed,  some  of  which  gave  prohibition  or  local 
option  to  certain  counties  or  townships  or  boroughs.  From 
the  last  period  to  1860,  there  w^ere  sixty-one  acts  passed. 
From  1860  to  1870  there  were  eighty-nine. 

HOW  THE  ACT  OF  1846  WAS  APPROVED  AND  REPEALED. 

By  this  act  eighteen  counties  and  one  borough  and  one 
township  were  permitted  to  vote  license  or  no  license. 
These  districts  severally  voted  no  license,  and  Allegheny 
County  was  among  them  !  The  Supreme  Court  of  the 
State,  in  the  case  of  Parker  vs.  Commonwealth,  by  three 
of  the  judges  against  two,  declared  the  act  unconstitutional. 
Judge  Coulter,  in  giving  his  opinion,  said  if  it  w^ere  not  for 
statute  law  a  grog-shop  would  be  declared  a  nuisance; 
thus  teaching  that  contrary  to  the  principles  of  common 
law,  the  Legislature  keeps  up  nuisances. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  unanimously 
set  aside  the  above  decision  and  declared  that  each  State 
had  a  right  to  abolish  the. sale  and  even  the  importation  of 
intoxicating  drinks,  and  thus  cleared  the  way  for  prohibi- 
tion. After  some  years,  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  the  appeal  made  at  Philadelphia,  declared  the 
Local  Option  law  of  1872  constitutional,  and  virtually  also 
reversed  the  decision  in  the  case  of  Parker  vs.  the  Com- 
monwealth. All  constitutional  objections  are  now  re- 
moved. 

For  some  of  the  facts  I  am  indebted  to  Rev.  George 
Duffield,  formerly  pastor  of  the  Coates  street  church, 
Philadelphia. 


68  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

HOW  THE  LOCAL  OPTION  ACT  OF    1872  WAS    CARRIED,  AND 
WHY  IT  SHOULD  NOT  HAVE  BEEN  REPEALED. 

Forty-one  counties  voted  for  it.  Of  the  population  of 
the  sixty-five  counties  and  twenty-five  cities,  there  was  a 
majority  of  17,619  against  license.  Without  any  request 
on  the  part  of  the  Commonwealth  (except  that  of  the 
liquor  dealers),  without  permitting  one  term  of  its  exist- 
ence to  pass,  and  against  the  remonstrances  of  thousands  of 
petitioners,  it  w'as  repealed.  This  was  caused,  as  a  then 
member  of  the  House  told  me,  by  the  presence  at  Harris- 
burg  of  liquor  dealers  from  Pittsburgh  and  Philadelphia. 
It  was  sustained  by  Governor  Hartranft,  who  had  not  long 
before  given  it  his  signature  of  approval.  Why  was  it 
repealed  ?  Thousands  of  persons  in  the  forty-one  counties 
would  say  it  had  begun  to  w^ork  w'ell.  But  it  in  some  w^ay 
interfered  with  the  wished  gain  of  those  interested  in  the 
sale,  or  with  the  appetite  of  others  ;  and  like  almost  every 
effort  of  the  kind  to  restrain,  it  has  been  altered  or  re- 
pealed, and  then  the  adherents  of  drink  say  it  was  a  fail- 
ure. No  law  is  entirely  obeyed,  and  shall  we  repeal  all 
our  laws  that  are  somewhat  transgressed  ?  If  the  forty- 
one  counties  had  not  been  surrounded  with  liquor-selling 
counties,  its  good  results  w^ould  have  been  more  complete, 
and  if  it  had  got  a  suflScieut  time  for  trial. 

GREAT    MISTAKES. 

The  first  is,  that  only  persons  of  small  attainments  or 
fanatical  tendencies  have  espoused  the  cause  of  total  absti- 
nence. All  who  have  been  willing  to  read,  know  that  the 
most  excellent  and  learned  ministers  in  Europe,  as  Dr. 
Guthrie  and  Dr.  Arnot,  have  been  workers  in  the  cause. 
A  large  number  of  English  physicians  and  chemists  have 
recommended  the  true  plan  of  total  abstinence. 

The  second  mistake  is,  that  alcohol  is  a  "  creature  of 
God,"  and  may  be  used  for  nourishment  as  a  beverage. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      69 

Whereas  it  has  been  well  ascertained  by  scientific  investi- 
gation, that  there  is  not  a  particle  of  blood  added  to  the 
body  by  any  alcoholic  drinks,  whether  vinous,  malt  or  dis- 
tilled. The  art  of  distillation  was  not  discovered  till  in  the 
13th  century,  by  an  Arabian,  who  called  it  Alghoul,  a 
devil  spirit.  Whether  the  Saviour  ever  used  wine  that 
was  intoxicating,  is  a  question  which  we  cannot  now  dis- 
cuss. His  life  of  self-denial  would  have  led  him  to  do 
what  his  apostle  Paul  taught  (Rom.  xiv.  21) — "  It  is  good 
neither  to  eat  flesh,  nor  to  drink  wine,  nor  any  thing 
whereby  thy  brother  stumbleth."  It  is  this  great  princi- 
ple of  Christian  expediency,  total  abstinence  for  the  good 
of  others,  which  has  led  Christian  people  to  give  up  that 
which  under  some  circumstances  might  be  used.  It  re- 
mains for  those  who  say  that  Jesus  made  intoxicating  wine 
to  prove  it.  God  said  (Gen.  i.  29) — "  Every  herb  shall  be 
to  you  for  meat."  Distillation  of  them  into  an  injurious 
fluid  is  a  perversion  of  God's  creatures. 

The  third  mistake  is,  that  intoxicating  drinks  are  me- 
dicinal and  sustaining.  They  stimulate  temporarily. 
They  afterwards  leave  the  body  in  a  debilitated  state.  In 
cases  of  extremity  they  may  impart  heat  for  a  little  time 
to  the  glandular  system.  Then  "give  strong  drink  unto  him 
that  is  ready  to  perish."  You  may  also  "  use  a  little  wine 
for  the  stomach  sake,"  in  certain  weaknesses.  But  if  you 
use  them  in  health,  you  suspend  the  chief  material  in  di- 
gestion— the  pepsin,  which  will  not  act  until  the  alcoholic 
fluid  has  exhausted  itself.  And  yet  the  grand  mistake  has 
been  that  something  will  help  digestion  that  is  intoxicating. 
Brandy,  wine,  beer  and  some  alcoholic  bitters  have  been 
injuring  thousaniJs  and  imparting  no  permanent  strength. 

Fourth,  mistakes  against  Law  and  right.  Since  the 
reign  of  Edward  III.  governments  have  attempted  to  di- 
minish the  evils  from  the  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks  by 


70     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENT\'  YEARS. 

the  liceuse  system.  For  more  than  three  hundred  years 
it  has  proved  a  failure.  It  is  a  grand  mistake  to  legalize 
what  is  contrary  to  natural  law,  common  law  and  a  perver- 
sion of  statute  law.  Blackstone  says :  "Natural  law  requires 
that  a  man  shall  live  honestly,  hurt  nobody,  and  render  to 
every  one  his  due."  Try  the  license  system  by  these  rules. 
Again  he  says :  "  Common  law  requires  that  a  man  shall 
not  use  his  property  to  the  injury  of  another,  and  the  consent 
of  the  party  injured  is  no  mitigation  of  the  offense." 
Statute  law,  by  the  book,  is  designed  to  correct  "  what  is 
wrong,"  or  supply  what  is  "  defective  in  common  law." 
Instead  of  correcting  what  is  wrong,  it  is  terribly  in- 
jurious. 

Fifth  mistake  is,  that  to  sell  is  a  natural  right.  Some 
years  ago  the  right  of  a  State  to  prohibit  was  brought  be- 
fore the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  The  entire 
bench  sustained  this  right  of  a  State.  Chief  Justice  Mc- 
Lean declared  that  no  one  can  claim  a  license  to  sell  as  a 
natural  right.  (See  5  Howard,  p.  597.)  To  sell  intoxi- 
cating drinks  is  simply  a  privilege  given  by  legislative 
act  to  certain  persons  to  vend  to  sober  men,  which 
often  turns  them  into  drunkards,  and  then  the  State  pun- 
ishes them. 

The  last  mistake  now  noticed  is,  that  a  sumptuary  law 
is  sought  for  by  temperance  people.  To  restrict  persons 
in  what  the}^  shall  wear  or  eat  and  drink  in  their  own 
houses  has  never  been  attempted  in  the  United  States. 
A  man  must  be  let  by  law  to  drink  himself  to  death  in 
his  own  house.  A  prohibitory  law  only  protects  others 
from  his  deadly  work.  Let  liquor  dealers  and  their 
helpers  cease  their  cry  of  fanaticism  and  trespass  upon 
liberty.  And  yet  every  good  cause  has  some  unwise  advo- 
cates. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Short  REMINISCE^X"ES  of  Ministers   and  Elders  at 
AND  Near  Washington,  Pa. 

WISH  to  give  a  few  reminiscences  of  Presbyterian  min. 
isters  at  Washington,  or  who  resided  there  before  they 
entered  the  sacred  office. 

MINISTERS    AND    ELDERS. 

The  first  pastor,  and  the  first  I  knew,  was  Rev.  Dr. 
Matthew  Brown.  His  physical  temperament  was  unusual, 
and  his  spirit  had  not  the  same  perfection  it  has  in  heaven. 
But  that  he  was  a  noble,  devoted  minister  of  Christ,  none 
should  doubt.  He  drew  young  men  towards  him,  and  with 
the  afiTection  and  plainness  of  a  father,  he  guided  them  in 
the  right  way.  His  heart  yearned  for  the  salvation  of 
students ;  and  through  his  instrumentality  and  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  times  of  revival,  many  were  prepared  to 
study  for  the  ministry. 

The  second  pastor  at  Washington  was  Rev.  Dr.  Obadiah 
Jennings.  I  beg  liberty  to  give  all  that  now  can  be  com- 
municated as  extracts  from  the  memoir  of  him,  written  by 
Rev.  Dr.  M.  Brown.  First,  of  him  as  a  lawyer.  "  He  was 
much  esteemed  by  his  brethren  of  the  bar,  and  greatly  con- 
fided in  by  the  community  at  large.  His  prospects  for 
earthly  emolument,  honor  and  distinction  Avere  as  flatter- 
ing as  those  of  any  of  his  associates,  and  never  more  so 
than  when  he  surrendered  them  all  for  the  sake  of  preach- 
ing the  gospel  of  Christ."  "  Often  was  he  observed,  after 
being  in  the  business  of  the  court,  to    seek   refreshment 

71 


72     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

at  the  evening  prayer-meeting,  and  after  pleading  a  cause 
at  a  human  bar,  would  gladly  retire  to  unite  in  the  devo- 
tions of  the  pious  in  pleading  the  cause  of  sinners  before 
the  tribunal  of  God."  Another  short  extract  from  Dr. 
Brown's  memoirs  is  made,  to  show  how  he  was  as  a  pastor 
at  Washington  for  five  years :  "  He  was  zealous,  faithful, 
and  laborious ;  he  took  pleasure  in  visiting  his  flock,  teach- 
ing from  house  to  house,  catechising,  conducting  prayer- 
meetings.  Sabbath-schools  and  Bible  classes.  He  was 
always  a  welcome  visitant,  and  had  a  happy  facility  of  im- 
parting instruction  and  giving  a  profitable  direction  to 
conversation.  He  excelled  in  conversing  on  Christian  ex- 
perience and  in  giving  counsel  to  the  anxious,  the  inquir- 
ing, the  doubting  and  the  distressed."  "  It  was  not  with- 
out a  painful  struggle  that  he  tore  himself  away  from  his 
pastoral  charge,  from  numerous  and  endeared  friends — the 
companions  of  his  youth — to  spend  the  remainder  of  his 
days  among  strangers,"  at  Nashville. 

After  my  relinquishment  of  the  pulpit  at  Washington  to 
take  charge  of  the  Herald,  Bev.  David  Elliott,  D.D.,  be- 
came the  excellent  pastor  of  the  church,  and  temporary 
President  of  the  College.  For  his  learning,  amiability  and 
diligence,  he  was  well  adapted  to  the  good  people  of  Wash- 
ington. He  had  been  in  earlier  life  a  teacher  in  the  Col- 
lege, and  was  present  when  Dr.  Brown  administered  the 
Lord's  Supper  for  the  first  time  in  1805.  A  memoir  of  his 
life  has  been  written  and  has  so  fully  represented  him  that 
I  forbear  presenting  him  farther  as  an  example. 

Rev.  James  AV.  McKennan  was  the  son  of  a  generous, 
godly  mother.  Washington  College  was  his  alma  mateVy 
and  the  town  the  place  of  his  residence.  He  turned  his 
attention  to  law, ;  but  God  turned  it  to  the  gospel.  He 
was  licensed  to  preach  in  October,  1828.  He  w^as  settled 
for  a  time  in  Indianapolis  ;  his  health  failing,  he  returned, 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      'J 2, 

and  was  a  pastor  in  Western  Pennsylvania  and  in  West 
Virginia.  His  health  still  remaining  feeble,  he  accepted  a 
Professorship  in  Washington  College.  Part  of  the  time 
he  went  South  for  a  few  months  to  get  relief.  Eventually 
an  unexpected  stroke  upon  his  limb  continued  to  cripple 
him  and  so  disordered  his  whole  constitution,  that  while 
comparatively  young  he  wore  an  aged  appearance.  His 
tall  frame  became  emaciated,  and  God  took  him  away 
from  his  most  excellent  wife  and  family.  From  the  time 
he  became  a  Christian,  his  whole  soul  was  in  his  Master's 
work.  He  was  my  encouraging  helper  when  he  was  a 
student  of  theology,  and  when  God  was  permitting  me  to 
labor  as  a  licentiate  in  a  revival  in  the  Washington  con- 
gregation. Candor,  Christian  simplicity  and  fraternal 
feeling  were  manifested  to  men.  Gratitude,  obedience  and 
resignation  to  God  characterized  him  most  remarkably. 
Every  one  that  made  his  acquaintance  found  that  he  was 
without  guile,  ready  to  contribute  to  their  happiness,  and 
just  as  ready  to  administer  a  frank,  gentle  reproof  as  he 
w^as  to  sympathize.  Every  one  loved  him  as  a  Christian 
companion,  and  a  preacher  of  the  gospel.  I  wish  I  could 
draw  a  proper  portrait  of  his  character,  that  cill  young 
men  might  imitate  him,  who  wish  both  to  be  honored  and 
to  be  useful.  He  and  his  brother  John  (who  was  an  elder 
at  Brownsville)  are  hard  to  describe,  and  it  is  more  diffi- 
cult to  be  like  them.     They  should  be  remembered. 

Alexander  B.  Brown,  D.D.,  was  born  at  Washington,  and 
like  his  father  (the  first  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  congre- 
gation) he  had  a  strong  attachment  to  its  people.  He 
graduated  at  Jefferson  College,  and  aided  Dr.  Eobert 
Baird  for  a  time  at  Princeton,  in  the  instruction  given  in 
the  Academy.  It  w^as  there  that  he  was  long  and  deeply 
exercised  about  his  spiritual  state,  and  there  the  writer 
was  often  visited  by  him  for  Christian  conversation.     He 


74     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio,  in  October,  1831. 
After  being  in  Michigan,  he  became  successively  the  pastor 
of  Centre  church  and  Professor  in  the  College,  pastor  of 
Chartiers  church  and  President  of  the  College,  and  asso- 
ciate pastor  of  the  Canonsburg  church.  His  appearance 
for  some  years  after  he  entered  public  life  was  youthful 
and  sprightly,  slender  and  active.  Sociable,  he  was  be- 
loved by  the  students,  by  the  people  of  his  charges,  re- 
spected by  all,  and  admired  as  a  speaker.  His  talents,, 
learning  and  piety  prepared  him  for  great  usefulness  ;  and 
yet  he  did  not  seek  distinction,  but  rather  preferred  others 
to  take  his  place.  Still  he  was  not  wanting  in  faithfulness  ; 
but  God  permitted  disease  gradually  to  sap  the  foundations 
of  his  strength,  and  rather  unexpectedly  he  passed  away 
to  rest,  leaving  a  bereaved  wife  and  sons,  two  of  whom 
have  since  entered  the  ministry,  promising  much  useful- 
ness. 

Dr.  Eobert  E.  Keed,  as  one  of  the  noblest  sons  of  Wash- 
ington, will  never  be  forgotten  by  those  who  knew  him ; 
and  his  bright  example  in  many  particulars  should  be 
handed  down  to  other  generations.  I  hope  that  in  attempt- 
ing to  present  him  in  early  life,  when  I  bore  the  relation  to 
him  as  his  minister,  I  shall  be  excused  for  adverting  to 
what  he  and  I  only  knew,  that  others  may  be  encouraged 
to  persevere  as  he  did.  During  the  revival  in  the  year 
1828,  he  became  deeply  anxious  as  an  inquirer.  Instead 
of  turning  back  to  a  state  of  comparative  indifference,  he 
came  often  to  my  room  for  conversation  and  prayer,  and  so 
long  was  it  before  he  was  brought  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  as  a  Saviour  that  both  he  and  I  were  tempted  to  de- 
spair of  a  happy  deliverance.  He  was  then  unmarried  and 
reading  medicine,  and  had  begun  to  exhibit  that  unbounded 
benevolence  that  characterized  him  more  fully  afterwards 
in  giving  attention  to  the  poor  that  were  sick,  gratuitously. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      75 

Subsequently  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  one  who  was  in 
search  of  the  "  pearl  of  great  price  "  at  the  same  time  he 
was;  and  both  most  remarkably  adorned  their  holy  pro- 
fession of  religion.  I  cannot  speak  of  him  in  this  writing 
as  he  deserves  to  be  remembered  for  the  good  of  others ; 
but  I  may  in  truth  say  that  I  believe  no  other  man  in 
modern  times,  as  a  layman,  united  more  excellencies  and 
exhibited  more  virtues  in  life.  He  was  kind  in  all  his  in- 
tercourse with  every  one,  besides  being  a  most  affectionate 
husband  and  father.  The  poor  experienced  his  beneficence, 
the  Colonization  cause  had  in  him  a  warm  advocate,  his 
country  in  the  time  of  its  trial  received  his  devoted  services 
in  connection  with  the  Christian  Commission,  and  the 
soldiers  his  personal  presence  in  their  distress.  Before  this 
he  had  been  an  able  representative  in  our  National  Con- 
gress, and  was  in  the  service  of  the  State  as  a  legislator 
when  God  took  him  to  his  rest  after  a  brief  but  painful 
illness  from  small-pox.  But  in  his  special  Christian  labors 
does  he  deserve  to  be  most  remembered — the  Superintend- 
ent of  the  Sabbath  School  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  ex- 
hibiting the  spirit  of  Jesus  in  his  love  for  children,  and 
serving  the  Church  for  many  years  as  an  elder ;  in  all 
things  adorning  his  profession  and  showing  that  a  true 
Christian  is  "  the  highest  style  of  man."  In  the  office  of 
elder  he  became  associated  with  those  whom  it  was  my 
privilege  to  sit  in  council :  Thomas  Stockton,  the  venerable 
father  of  our  Dr.  John  Stockton ;  Charles  Hawkins,  the 
*'  effectual  fervent "  praying  elder,  and  father  of  Rev.  John 
Li.  Hawkins ;  James  Orr,  the  sincere  and  humble  Chris- 
tian ;  Jacob  Slagle,  full  of  zeal  and  good  will  to  all  men  ; 
Robert  Officer,  modest  and  retiring,  but  a  devoted  friend 
of  the  cause  of  Christ ;  and  lastly,  Robert  Colmery,  kind 
and  devout,  who  often  sought  my  room  that  we  might  join 
in  prayer  before  going  to  the  meeting  for  inquiry. 


"J^  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

Samuel  Miller  was  for  many  years  a  Professor  in  Jeffer- 
son College.  The  following  I  take  in  part  from  what  I 
furnished  for  the  "Centennial  Volume  "  :  He  was  a  man  of 
low  stature,  with  a  penetrating  eye,  and  in  old  age  a 
smooth,  white  head  ;  a  self-made  scholar,  kindly  in  disposi- 
tion, and  rebuking  oftener  wdth  the  pointing  of  his  finger 
than  with  sharp  words. 

HIS    EXPERIENCE. 

In  1830  he  retired  from  the  College.  Shortly  after 
which  I  visited  him,  residing  near  Chartiers  church,  where 
he  was  still  a  ruling  elder,  and  where  he  had  long  been  be- 
loved, as  he  had  been  by  the  students  of  the  institution. 
Feeling  that  he  would  not  stay  long  on  earth,  he  volun- 
tarily said  he  would  relate  to  me  w^hat  he  never  had  before 
to  any  one,  in  regard  to  his  religious  experience :  "  At  one 
time,  under  deep  anxiety  and  distress  of  mind,  as  he  walked 
the  streets  of  Canonsburg  at  night,  he  had  something  like 
a  vision  of  the  Saviour.  Whether  it  was  a  vision  or  a 
voice,  he  could  scarcely  say,  but  it  was  such  an  impression 
of  the  Saviour's  presence,  and  so  suitable  to  his  necessities, 
as  led  him  at  once  with  joyful  confidence  to  commit  his 
soul's  everlasting  interests  into  his  hands,  as  one  who  was 
near  him  of  a  truth. 

He  ever  afterwards,  during  his  long  life,  remained  an 
humble,  faithful  disciple  of  Him  who  had  given  him  this 
light  in  his  darkness.  This  experience  was  the  more  re- 
markable from  the  fact  that  Prof  Miller  w^as  character- 
istically a  matter-of-fact  man,  and  one  of  the  last  to  be 
subject  to  any  sort  of  hallucination. 

I  w^as  then  an  editor,  and  though  he  did  not  ask  me  to 
make  his  experience  public  at  any  time,  I  inferred  that  he 
desired,  for  the  benefit  of  others,  it  should  not  ahvays  re- 
main unknown.  The  experience  of  Luther  on  several 
occasions  was  of  a  somewhat  similar  sort,  and  the  peculiar 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      "]"] 

influences  which  manifested  themselves  in  the  bodily  exer- 
cises of  the  early  part  of  this  century,  render  such  experi- 
ences as  that  of  "  Master  "  Miller  less  a  matter  of  surprise 
than  otherwise  they  might  have  been. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Recollections  of   Deceased  Ministers. 

/~T~\hese  cannot  be  given  of  all  who  should  be  kept  in  re- 
membrance. Nor  is  it  intended  to  give  a  full  memoir 
of  any.  Such  traits  of  character  and  courses  of  con- 
duct as  may  be  specially  imitated,  will  be  noticed.  These 
must  be  confined  to  some  of  those  who  were  known  by  the 
writer,  and  whose  biographies  have  not  been  written.  Dates 
are  not  always  necessary.     The  first  is, 

REV.  FRANCIS  HERRON,  D.D. 

He  accepted  a  call  from  the  First  Presbyterian  church 
of  Pittsburgh,  on  the  18th  of  June,  1811.  His  dignified 
appearance.  Christian  deportment  and  love  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  people,  prepared  him  to  undertake  the  pastoral 
care  of  a  congregation,  in  peculiar  circumstances,  in  a 
growing  town,  where  as  yet  there  were  only  seventy-four 
members  in  communion.  His  courage  and  faithfulness 
were  crowned  with  the  divine  blessing  for  many  years. 
His  mind  was  interested  in  every  good  institution,  espe- 
cially such  as  were  adapted  to  raise  up  young  men  for  the 
ministry.  His  soul  was  not  selfish ;  for  when  other 
churches  in  the  vicinity  were  to  be  erected,  he  encouraged 
his  people  to  colonize.  He  went  abroad  when  necessary  to 
aid  feeble  congregations,  and  in  all  things  showed  the  lib- 
eral spirit  of  Christ  towards  the  whole  "household  of 
faith."  Many,  besides  the  present  memorialist,  have  rea- 
son to  be  grateful  that  he  lived  as  a  minister,  and  to  lament 

his  death. 

78 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.  79 

REV.  ELISHA  P.  SWIFT,  D.D. 

He  commenced  his  ministerial  course  in  Pittsburgh,  No- 
vember, 1819,  as  pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  church. 
He  early  gave  evidence  of  being  a  profound,  serious 
thinker  on  the  great  subjects  of  divine  revelation.  His 
utterances  were  often  sublime,  coming  from  a  believing 
heart.  His  impressive  personal  appearance  added  to  the 
force  of  his  thoughts,  whether  on  doctrinal  or  practical 
subjects.  He  was  evidently  aided  in  his  deep  conceptions 
of  truth  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  his  life,  by  a  deep  serious- 
ness of  manner,  he  enforced  what  he  preached  from  the 
pulpit.  He  was  condescending  and  kind  in  his  intercourse 
with  the  people.  Sometimes,  in  public  assemblies,  he  ap- 
peared to  be  absorbed  in  thought.  The  state  of  the  world 
hung  heavily  upon  his  mind.  This,  in  the  early  part  of 
his  life  led  him  to  contemplate  a  mission  to  the  heathen, 
and  afterwards  led  him  to  relinquish  his  pastoral  charge, 
in  1833,  that  he  might  undertake  the  responsible  and  la- 
borious work  of  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  "  Western 
Foreign  Missionary  Society,"  and  to  travel  by  day,  and  by 
night  sometimes,  for  two  or  three  years.  While  he  had  a 
preference  for  Presbyterian  institutions,  he  cordially  aided 
every  proper  effort  to  help  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  Once 
when  the  American  Tract  Society  was  unjustifiably  assailed 
at  length,  he  arose  in  its  defence,  with  all  the  solemnity 
that  the  occasion  required,  and  spoke  with  the  dignity 
which  usually  characterized  him.  For  he  made  no  at- 
tempts at  wit.  His  mind  soared  too  high  to  touch  the  low 
ways  taken  by  some  debaters.  In  this  he  was  an  example 
to  many  of  the  present  generation. 

Aided  by  a  kind,  dignified.  Christian  wife,  he  was  ena- 
bled by  the  blessing  of  God  to  finish'  his  course  upon  earth 
in  such  a  way  that  all  who  knew  him  bear  testimony  to  his 
worth  ;  and  as  a  debtor  to  them  both,  the  writer  cherishes 


8o     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

a  tender  regard  for  them  in  his  last  days  upon  earth,  with 
the  hope  of  meeting  in  heaven. 

REV.  AARON  WILLIAMS,  D.D., 

was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio,  in  October,  183L 
He  officiated  as  a  minister  and  pastor  before  he  was  called 
to  be  a  Professor  in  the  University  of  Ohio,  at  Athens. 
After  which  he  was  Professor  in  Jefferson  College.  He 
was  a  ripe  scholar,  with  a  mind  well  furnished  with  useful 
knowledge.  His  sermons  were  accurate  and  instructive, 
and  yet  not  such  as  common  hearers  w^ould  value  as  they 
deserved.  As  a  minister  he  was  ready  for  every  good 
work,  and  well  adapted  to  benefit  people  of  refinement,  and 
did  profit  people  of  all  classes.  Retiring  and  modest,  he 
was  of  "  the  highest  style  of  man,"  a  Christian  gentleman, 
and  as  such  was  much  beloved. 

HENRY    G.  COMINGO,  D.D., 

once  pastor  at  Steubenville,  I  remember  as  one  of  the  most 
complete,  as  a  gentleman  and  a  minister,  in  the  upper  val- 
ley of  the  Ohio.  To  try  to  fill  out  this  figure  w^ould  re- 
quire more  room  than  I  can  take.  God,  whose  ways  are 
"  past  finding  out,"  took  him  suddenly,  by  diphtheria,  from 
his  family,  from  his  congregation,  and  from  participating 
in  "  every  good  work,"  for  which  he  was  always  ready  with 
Christian  complacency  and  seriousness.  His  fervid  piety 
and  labors  were  blessed  with  much  fruit,  and  his  "  works 
do  follow  him," 

REV.  ROBERT  DUNLAP, 

formerly  pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  church,  Pitts- 
burgh, and  a  successor  of  Dr.  Swift,  will  be  remembered 
by  his  limited  acquaintances  in  this  part  of  the  Church 
with  gratitude,  as  a  minister  of  Christ.  An  excellent  pas- 
tor, a  profitable  preacher,  and  kind  and  humble  as  a  Chris- 
tian ;  but  God  was  pleased  to  take  him  from  earth  in  the 
midst  of  his  days  and  usefulness,  by  a  fever. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SE\^NTY  YEARS.  8 1 

WILLIAM  D.  HOWARD,  D.D., 

his  successor  in  the  pastorate,  had  a  combination  of  Chris- 
tian characteristics.  My  first  knowledge  of  him  was,  that 
on  his  way  to  the  city  of  Pittsburgh,  when  a  man  who  had 
been  attacked  by  the  cholera  on  board  the  steamboat,  and 
forsaken  by  other  helpers,  he  operated  upon  the  stranger 
by  means  adapted  to  aid  his  recovery.  This  spirit  of  com- 
passion never  forsook  him.  He  was  courteous  as  a  gentle- 
man, "  fervent  in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord  "  in  all  the  ways 
of  usefulness.  A  helper  in  the  union  of  the  two  branches 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in  the  temperance  cause,  and 
in  all  the  established  means  adopted  by  the  Church  for  its 
advancement.  He  was  a  warm-hearted  man  and  an  earn- 
est preacher,  much  beloved  as  a  pastor.  But  God  saw  fit 
to  close  his  earthly  career  suddenl}^,  to  join  angels  and 
saints  in  the  praises  of  the  Redeemer. 

KEY.  DR.  JACOBUS, 

a  Professor  in  the  Western  Theological  Seminary,  will  be 
ramembered  as  endued  with  acute  mental  faculties  and 
great  readiness  in  uttering  what  he  had  acquired,  as  a 
thorough  student.  He  was  a  fine  exegetical  scholar,  and 
gave  much  time  in  preparing  notes  on  ditferent  parts  of  the 
sacred  volume.  He  also  gave  the  results  of  his  knowledge 
acquired  by  travel  in  Palestine.  And,  when  he  found  that 
circumstances  created  a  belief  that  the  wine  which  the 
Saviour  made  was  not  fermented,  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
state  it  in  his  commentary  on  the  miracle  performed  at 
Cana.  Amidst  his  many  labors  as  Professor,  pastor,  com- 
mentator, and  occasional  writer  of  Christian  literature, 
God  caused  his  spirit  to  ascend  to  the  world  of  perfect 
knowledge. 

AN    EPISODE. 

Though  these  precious  brethren,  Howard  and  Jacobus, 
were  "  appointed  to  death  "  suddenly,  yet  for  the  good  of 


82     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENT\'  YEARS. 

others  I  express  the  opinion  that  the  more  immediate  nat- 
ural cause  of  their  removal  was  the  absence  of  proper  sur- 
face action  and  circulation  to  the  extremities,  which  pre- 
vents free  respiration,  which  I  noticed  was  wanting  in  them 
at  different  times.  The  exact  connection  in  their  cases 
between  cause  and  effect,  it  is  not  now  for  me  to  attempt 
to  explain. 

REV.  ISAAC   M.  COOK, 

formerly  pastor  at  Bridgewater,  was  eloquent,  zealous,  per- 
severing and  successful  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.  Like 
others,  learned  in  many  things,  he  had  not  practical  skill 
to  restore  to  an  exhausted  body,  in  good  time,  what  it 
needed.  He  wore  out  a  rather  fragile  frame  in  compara- 
tively early  life,  not  without  having  seen  several  seasons 
of  special  revival  in  the  church  of  which  he  was  pastor. 

REV.  ROBERT  CAROTHERS, 

a  highly  respected  pastor  and  presbyter,  went  from  near 
Pittsburgh  to  Vinton,  Iowa,  to  be  Professor  in  an  Institu- 
tion for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb.  He  died  in  March,  1882, 
leaving  an  interesting  family  and  other  friends  to  mourn, 
and  the  Church  to  join  in  sympathetic  sorrows. 

REV.    JONATHAN   CROSS 

was  an  efficient  elder  in  the  Bethlehem  church,  Beaver 
County,  when  he  entered  the  service  of  the  American 
Tract  Society  as  a  colporteur,  at  Temperanceville.  His 
adaptedness  to  the  work  led  the  Society  to  enlarge  the 
sphere  of  his  operations,  so  that  he  was  employed  in  the 
States  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  Being  a  fluent 
speaker,  with  ardent  zeal  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  he  was 
very  successful  as  God's  instrument  in  awakening  the 
attention  of  people  to  the  solemn  realities  of  the  eternal 
world.  So  much  so  that  one  of  our  Presbyteries  thought 
it  wise  to  license  him  to  preach  the    gospel  without  the 


53     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

ordinary  course  of  study.  He  was  also  ordained,  and 
became  a  pastor  of  one  of  the  churches  in  the  city  of 
Wheeling  for  a  few  years.  He  labored  very  much  as  an 
evangelist,  and  was  instrumental  in  promoting  revivals  of 
religion  in  many  places. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Recollections  of  Deceased  Ministers.  {Continued.^ 

¥ILLIAM  Smith,  D.  D.,  late  Professor  in  Jefferson 
College.  The  writer  knew  him  as  his  youthful 
instructor,  sixty-four  years  since.  He  saw  him  on 
the  clay  of  his  marriage ;  he  heard  him  preach  his  first 
sermon  in  Dr.  McMillan's  church ;  he  had  his  assistance 
at  communion  seasons,  and  was  often  a  member  with 
him  in  church  judicatories,  and  feels  that  none  w^ere  so 
near  perfection  in  all  his  characteristics  as  a  minister. 
He  was  learned,  especially  in  ancient  and  modern  lan- 
guages. Faithful  as  a  minister  for  more  than  fifty  years 
for  the  Miller's  Run  church,  often  traveling  the  five  miles 
on  foot.  The  whole  Church  is  indebted  to  him  for  helping 
to  prepare  many  of  her  ministers  for  their  work,  and  the 
whole  country  for  educating  some  of  her  professional  men. 
Patriotically  he  yielded  three  sons  to  be  soldiers  in  the 
war  against  the  rebellion.  His  last  public  services  were 
preaching  and  distributing  tracts  to  the  poor.  His  daugh- 
ter Elizabeth,  with  a  spirit  like  her  father,  devoted  herself 
to  instructing  poor  children  in  New  Mexico,  without  com- 
pensation. 

REV.  SAMUEL    M.    HENDERSON. 

He  had  been  a  pastor  at  Pigeon  Creek,  and  likewise  at 
Wilkinsburg,  where  he  was  very  successful  -in  promoting 
the  cause  of  Christ,  aiding  some  in  the  Peunsylvania  Fe- 
male College,  and  giving  occasional  instruction  in  the 
Western  Theological  Seminary.     Much  beloved  as  a  mem- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      85 

ber  of  the  Presbytery  of  Pittsburgh,  he  ^vas  dismissed  with 
many  expressions  of  regret,  that  he  might  be  a  Professor 
in  Biddle  University,  in  North  Carolina,  and  thus  become 
a  blessing  to  the  Freedmen.  There  was  a  hope  that  his 
declining  health  would  be  benefited  by  the  change  of  cli- 
mate; but  that  which  the  writer  foresaw  occurred,  his  early- 
departure  from  this  world,  leaving  a  youthful  and  useful 
wife,  and  children  to  mourn  their  great  loss.  He  lived  to 
April  2,  1879,  and  died,  thirty-nine  years  of  age,  exempli- 
fying the  truth  of  the  saying,  "  He  lives  long  who  lives 
well." 

OF    REV.  DAVID    m'kINXEY,  D.D., 

who  died  May  28,  1879,  aged  eighty-three,  a  most  inter- 
esting memorial  has  been  published  by  his  son.  To  this 
we  refer  those  who  wish  to  be  informed  as  to  particulars  in 
the  life  of  this  learned  and  practical  servant  of  the  Lord. 
Gifted  as  he  was  with  more  than  ordinary  talents,  he  ex- 
celled the  most  of  us  his  fellow-students  at  college ;  and 
he  employed  those  talents  as  a  writer  and  preacher  in  elu- 
cidating many  important  subjects,  in  a  clear,  concise  way, 
through  a  long  life.  He  still  "  brought  forth  fruit  in  old 
age  " ;  and  at  that  period  of  life  when  any  of  us  pastors 
around  Pittsburgh  would  ask  his  assistance,  he  would  take 
out  his  pencil  and  mark  the  time  he  was  needed,  without 
any  unnecessary  excuses.  His  mind  kept  working,  so  that 
his  last  hours  were  spent  in  the  supposed  public  worship  of 
God ;  or,  when  conscious,  in  expressions  of  gratitude  to  his 
heavenly  Father  for  the  past  and  of  hope  for  the  future. 
In  this  state  we  were  permitted  to  join  him  in  prayer, 
thankful  for  the  opportunity  of  witnessing  his  victory  over 
death. 

REV.  JAMES  ALEXANDER,  D,D., 

was  ordained  and  installed  pastor  of  Greenville  and  Salem 
churches,  by  the   Presbytery  of   Erie,  in  1828.      Subse- 


S6  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

quently  he  was  called  by  the  congregation  of  Hopewell,  m 
the  then  Presbytery  of  Ohio ;  and  by  its  committee,  con- 
sisting of  Rev.  J.  K.  Cunningham  and  the  writer,  was  in- 
stalled pastor,  the  service  being  performed  in  a  barn.  He 
remained  a  few  years  and  became  pastor  of  the  St.  CI  airs- 
ville  church,  and  subsequently  of  the  church  at  Martins- 
ville. Thence  he  removed  to  what  is  now  West  Virginia,. 
and  spent  his  last  years  at  Moundsville,  where  he  departed 
this  life  on  the  26th  of  July,  1879,  at  the  age  of  fourscore 
years,  having  served  his  generation  in  the  ministry  in  the 
exercise  of  a  sound  judgment,  with  great  faithfulness  and 
perseverance ;  and  was  permitted  in  the  end  to  realize  that, 
he  was  about  to  enter  the  "  saint's  everlasting  rest." 

REV.  JOHN  W.  SCOTT,  D.D., 

in  spirit  left  earth  one  day  before  Dr.  Alexander.  He 
had  been  a  pastor,  but  devoted  the  most  of  his  life  to  giving- 
instruction  in  institutions  of  learning.  For  a  time  he  was 
President  of  Washington  College,  and  was  greatly  honored 
as  a  learned,  noble-minded  servant  of  the  Lord.  He  did 
not  refuse  to  espouse  a  cause  somew^hat  unpopular,  and 
Avhen  the  General  Assembly  last  met  at  Cleveland,  he  w^as 
asked  to  preside  at  a  special  temperance  meeting.  He  did 
so  with  the  dignity  that  characterized  him  ;  and  though  a 
few  individuals  had  said,  "  Let  us  kill  this  cause,"  he  put 
resolutions  which  unanimously  passed,  and  afterwards, 
being  committed  into  the  hands  of  the  late  Moderator,  Dr. 
S.  J.  Wilson,  he  so  handled  them  that,  to  use  his  own  lan- 
guage, they  "  went  through  the  Assembly  like  a  shot," 
somewhat  to  the  consternation  of  those  friends  of  temper- 
ance who  promise  something  and  do  nothing.  Dr.  Scott 
was  induced,  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  to  occupy  a  Pro- 
fessorship in  Biddle  University,  to  aid  the  great  and  good 
cause  of  educating  the  Freedmen ;  but  God  did  not  permit 
him  to  remain  long ;  and  after  years  of  affliction  and  be- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      Sj 

reavement,  he  passed  away  at  the  age  of  seventy-one,  to 
join  those  who  are  "  free  indeed." 

REV.  LEWIS    W.    GREEN,  D.D. 

Dr.  Green  was  an  example  of  early  piety,  and  was 
led  to  devote  himself  to  God,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  in 
Danville,  Ky.,  near  which  he  was  born.  There  I  found 
him,  in  1833,  an  interesting  Professor  in  Centre  College. 
Then  I  was  struck  with  evidences  of  a  noble  generosity  and 
Christian  kindness,  on  my  way  to  visit  Presbyteries  in  be- 
half of  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society.  After- 
wards, when  he  became  a  Professor  in  the  Western  Theo- 
logical Seminary  in  Allegheny,  he  participated  in  the  pe- 
cuniary difficulties  of  the  institution,  and  did  much  to  con- 
tinue and  strengthen  the  influence  which  it  has  ever 
^yielded  for  the  benefit  of  the  churches  and  the  world.  All 
its  friends  that  knew  him  will  remember  how  he  aided  it 
by  his  personal  qualifications  for  the  office  and  by  his  at- 
tractive oratory.  He  was  ever  ready  with  his  lovely  fra- 
ternal smile  to  accept  the  invitations  of  pastors  to  preach 
in  their  churches  and  to  aid  in  "  every  good  w^ork  "  in  this 
section  of  the  Church.  When  there  were  ministers  who 
held  back,  as  there  are  now,  from  aiding  in  the  temperance 
cause,  he  went  forward  and  made  addresses  without  consid- 
ering whether  it  would  affect  his  popularity  among  those 
who  wished  a  "  little,"  not  for  their  "  stomach's  sake,"  but 
because  they  would  not  give  up  old  indulgences.  He 
assisted  the  writer  once  in  July  when  the  farmers  were  ex- 
hausted, and  did  not  keep  awake  properly  in  hearing  the 
second  sermon,  even  under  his  stirring  preaching.  "  Well," 
said  he,  "  I  do  not  think  it  amounts  to  much  to  preach 
twice  to  the  same  people,  only  having  a  short  intermission." 
To  this  I  had  to  assent  with  regret,  for  he  had  gone  with 
me,  when  recovering  from  long  sickness,  to  benefit  my 
people. 


88     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

He  was  led,  in  October,  1846,  to  resign  his  position  as 
Professor  in  the  Seminary,  much  to  the  regret  of  its  friends ; 
but  continued  his  services  till  February,  1847,  when  he  be- 
came pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  church  of  Balti- 
more. In  1848  he  became  President  of  Ham2Dden  Sidney 
College,  in  Virginia.  He  was  afterwards  elected  President 
of  Transylvania  University,  at  Lexington,  Kentucky,  in 
1856,  which  he  accepted.  And  afterwards  he  was  Presi- 
dent of  his  own  institution.  Centre  College,  at  Danville, 
where  he  was  graduated.  Here  he  became  the  successor 
of  my  classmate  in  the  Seminary,  John  C.  Young,  known 
through  our  churches,  and  there  he  remained  till  May  26, 
1863,  when,  after  a  severe  illness  of  five  days,  he  departed 
to  his  "  everlasting  rest,"  in  the  fifty-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

His  frequent  changes  were  evidences  of  his  popularity 
and  useftilness;  and  some  rather  languishing  institutions 
probably  felt  that  wdth  his  energy  and  enterprise  they 
would  be  revived,  and  were  not  disappointed.  With  one 
of  the  editors  of  the  Banner,  he  shared  the  troubles  of  the 
war  at  Danville,  and  the  duties  of  instructors  in  the  Col- 
lege. I  trust  his  "  work  and  labor  of  love  "  is  not  for- 
gotten by  his  surviving  acquaintances  in  this  part  of  the 
Church. 

REV.  JOHN  STOCKTON,  D.D. 

A  few  weeks  since,  I  stood  over  the  clay  that  covers  the 
mortal  remains  of  this  beloved  brother,  whose  youthful 
countenance  I  had  remembered  for  sixty-four  years,  since 
we  were  at  college.  How  sad  to  think  that  the  face  which 
was  so  often  animated  by  the  ardent  soul  within,  when  ad- 
dressing dying  sinners,  was  mouldering  back  to  dust! 
That  there  the  common  disciple  ol  Jesus  might  see  that  the 
"  reverend  head  must  lie  as  low  "  as  theirs !  I  knew  him 
at  Princeton  Seminary  as  a  licensed  minister.  But  it  is 
his  exemplary  work  as  a  pastor  which  should  be  presented. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      89 

In  February,  1828,  I  was  at  his  church,  when  God  was  vis- 
iting it  in  a  special  manner  in  causing  his  people  to  be 
prevalent  in  prayer,  and  others  to  experience  deep  convic- 
tions. I  saw  the  people's  heads  bowed  under  anxiety  of 
mind,  and  there  was  striking  evidence  that  God  was 
carrying  on  a  gracious  work.  It  was  not  a  protracted 
meeting  that  ended  by  receiving  some  persons  into  the 
church  hastily,  who  gave,  as  many  do  now,  not  much 
reason  to  believe  that  they  w^ere  converted  to  God.  The 
inquirers  were  instructed,  as  was  the  general  usage  in 
those  times,  as  to  the  reality  of  regeneration  and  true  re- 
pentance, before  they  w^ere  encouraged  to  be  received  as 
communicants.  This  recjuired  assiduous  labor  and  perse- 
verance by  the  pastor  and  elders ;  and  when  they  received 
persons  into  the  church  they  were  of  lasting  use,  for  they 
had  experienced  a  radical  change.  In  1831,  when  I  again 
visited  this  congregation,  the  pastor  was  still  receiving 
persons  as  a  part  of  this  ingathering,  which  lasted  four 
years  and  numbered  167.  Of  them,  and  others  wdio  be- 
came members,  there  were  youth  adapted  by  grace,  as 
they  were  by  education,  to  enter  the  ministry.  Though 
not  so  well  accjuainted  with  Dr.  Stockton's  work  durin,^ 
the  latter  part  of  his  pastorate,  it  was  successful  for 
iifty  years  at  Cross  Creek,  where  dust  precious  to  me 
slumbers. 

OTHERS. 

My  neighboring  pastor,  Kev.  John  K.  Cunniugham,  was 
a  brother  of  sterling  worth,  whom  I  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Matilda  Guy,  a  most  exemplary  helper. 

Dr.  George  Marshall,  of  Bethel,  was  a  man  whose  fervid 
eloquence  and  great  usefulness  in  different  cougregations 
should  be  remembered. 

Rev.  Adam  Torrance  was  one  with  whom  I  was  intimate 

in  the  house  of  Rev.  Dr.  E.  P.  Swift,  and   whom  I  knew 
8* 


90     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

in  Ohio  as  a  faithful,  suffering  pioneer,  and  afterwards  a 
worthy  minister  of  our  Synod  ;  and  who,  when  chaplains 
were  needed  for  our  regiments,  went  to  the  field,  hoary- 
headed  as  he  was,  and  was  much  esteemed  by  the  soldiers. 
At  the  Centennial  meeting  at  Uniontown,  he  gave  out  the 
twenty-third  psalm  to  be  sung  at  the  close,  and  then  re- 
turned to  Washington  and  suffered  for  a  few  weeks  in- 
tensely with  the  disease  which  closed  his  life. 

Besides  others,  there  was  my  good  brother,  Rev.  Thomas 
Stevenson,  pastor,  for  a  time,  at  Montours,  and  eventually, 
with  Christian  heroism,  he  became  a  chaplain  for  a  negro 
regiment  in  our  struggle  with  the  South.  There  he  volun- 
tarily continued  to  suffer  for  his  country  and  for  the  good 
of  the  soldiers. 

REV.  JOHN  m'CLUSKEY,  D.D., 

was  a  native  of  Washington  County,  Pa.,  graduated  at 
Jefferson  College  in  the  year  1822,  and  entered  Princeton 
Seminary  in  1825.  He  was  for  many  years  the  beloved 
and  faithful  pastor  of  the  church  of  West  Alexander, 
Washington  Presbytery,  and  died  in  Philadelphia  at  the 
advanced  age  of  eighty-four,  on  the  31st  of  March,  1880. 
He  was  tall  in  person,  the  senior  of  most  of  his  fellow-stu- 
dents at  college,  social  in  his  manners,  gifted  as  an  extem- 
pore speaker,  and  well  adapted  as  a  pastor.  He  was 
principal  of  a  female  seminary  near  Philadelphia  for  a 
long  time.  He  was  led,  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  to  re- 
side at  Wooster,  Ohio,  where  his  occasional  services  were 
very  acceptable,  and  where  he  was  revered  by  the  students 
of  the  University.  It  was  ordered,  in  the  providence  of 
God,  that  he  should  die  at  Philadelphia,  a  member  of  the 
Central  Presbytery,  much  regarded  by  those  who  there 
knew  him  as  he  had  been  by  us,  his  fellow-students  at  col- 
lege. But  that  tall  form  with  a  kind  countenance  has  re- 
turned to  dust  to  await  the  resurrection  of  the  just  to  life 
everlasting. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.  9 1 

REV.  WILLIAM    T.  BEATTY,  D.D., 

the  recently  beloved  pastor  of  the  Shady  Side  church, 
Pittsburgh,  resigned  his  charge  and  went  to  St.  Paul,  in 
hope  of  being  restored  to  health.  But  after  preaching 
there  a  short  time,  he  sank  and  died.  This  dispensation 
caused  grief  to  all  who  knew  him,  that  one  so  lovely  and 
so  useful  should  pass  away  so  soon.  His  sweet  smile  we 
cannot  forget. 

The  rather  sudden  death  of 

REV.  ALEXANDER  H.  DONALDSON, 

the  son  of  our  beloved  Dr.  Donaldson,  caused  much  grief 
to  a  large  circle  outside  of  his  own  kindred.  He  had  gone 
with  his  wife  and  little  children  to  be  a  missionary  at  Fort 
Defiance,  in  New  Mexico,  to  labor  among  the  Indians  and 
white  men,  some  of  these  like  the  heathen.  God  had  pre- 
served them  through  many  dangers  on  their  journey  to  the 
place  of  destination,  and  great  hope  was  entertained  that 
he  would  be  permitted  to  erect  the  standard  of  the  cross 
successfully,  and  see  many  people  gather  around  it  in  that 
distant  territory.  But  God's  ways  are  not  ours,  and  on 
the  30th  of  April,  1880,  while  yet  a  young  man,  he  was 
taken  away,  no  doubt  from  the  peculiar  trials  of  a  mis- 
sionary life  in  our  new  Territories.  His  courage  and  per- 
severance were  remarkable,  and  his  example  of  self-denial 
for  the  good  of  a  poor,  miserable  people,  was  an  example 
which  will  speak,  though  he  is  dead.  His  wife  and  chil- 
dren deserve  the  grateful  regard  of  Christian  friends  in  this 
region  of  the  Church. 

OF  REV.  DR.  PLUMER, 

who  died  at  Baltimore,  much  has  been  written  which  need 
not  be  repeated.  His  great  industry  as  a  Professor  in  our 
Theological  Seminary,  and  in  the  commencement  of  the 
Central  church  of  Allegheny  City,  and  other   occasional 


92     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

services,  entitle  his  memory  to  a  grateful  remembrance  by 
Presbyterians  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  Of  him  I  had 
some  knowledge  as  a  classmate,  for  a  time,  at  the  Princeton 
Seminary,  which  others  have  not.  He  cam.e  there  not  with 
the  venerable  appearance  of  after  life.  He  soon  evinced 
unusual  abilities  to  acquire  and  retain  and  use  all  desirable 
knowledge.  He  had  self-possession  and  a  ready  utterance, 
which  helped  to  give  him  superiority.  Though  he  was 
learned,  he  was  practical  in  his  writings  and  preaching,  as 
was  our  old  Dr.  A.  Alexander,  and  like  him  he  had  a  calm 
and  devotional  exercise  of  mind  in  the  end,  notwithstand- 
ing his  suffering  in  the  body. 

REV.  COCHRAN  FORBES. 

His  place  of  preaching  was  in  the  bounds  of  the  Blairs- 
ville  Presbytery.  He  had  been,  previously,  a  missionary 
in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  had,  as  he  stated  to  my  con- 
gregation, seen  great  changes.  The  members  of  his  church 
there  had  carried  materials  on  their  shoulders  four  miles, 
from  the  mountains,  to  erect  a  large  house  of  worship. 
They  numbered  seventeen  hundred  communicants,  and  for 
evening  prayer-meeting  one  thousand  would  be  present, 
some  dripping  wet,  having  swum  the  inlet  made  by  the 
ocean,  as  a  short  cut  to  the  house  of  prayer.  His  elders 
had  been  originally  from  among  the  lowest  of  the  race. 
The  devotion  of  all  was  great,  and  his  success  so  encour- 
aging that  from  year  to  year  he  endeavored  to  stay  on  one 
or  the  other  of  the  islands,  but  the  health  of  his  wife  re- 
quired a  return  to  this  country.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
meekness  and  devout  piety,  as  I  ascertained  from  his  as- 
sisting me  in  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
His  last  services  were  those  of  a  chaplain  to  the  Presby- 
terian Hospital  at  Philadelphia,  and  they  were  much  val- 
ued ;  but  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy -five  he  died  on  the 
5th  of  November,  in  Philadelphia,  a  member  of  the  Cen- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      93 

tral  Presbytery  ;  while  his  son,  Rev.  Anderson  O.  Forbes, 
continues  his  missionary  labors  in  the  JSandwich  Islands. 

REV.  ALGERNON    S.  MACMASTER,  D.D., 

became  pastor  of  the  Fourth  Presbyterian  church  of  Pitts- 
burgh, in  1838,  where  he  was  highly  esteemed  by  the  peo- 
-ple  and  by  the  then  Presbytery  of  Ohio.  He  was  after- 
wards the  pastor  at  Westfield  for  twelve  years,  and  then  at 
Poland,  O.,  for  a  still  longer  period,  till  the  infirmities  of 
age  caused  his  resignation.  There  was  in  him  a  noble, 
sympathetic  state  of  mind,  so  fully  developed  that  it  won 
the  kind  regard  of  his  brethren.  He  shared  in  the  same 
sentiments  with  his  brother.  Dr.  E.  D.  jNIacMaster,  in  the 
anti-slavery  cause,  and  yet  wisely  promoted  its  progress. 
I  cannot  cause  him  to  be  remembered  in  a  short  space  bet- 
ter than  by  quoting  from  the  "  testimonial  "  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  Mahoning,  as  follows :  "■  With  a  clear  head,  sound 
judgment  and  logical  mind,  richly  stored  with  heavenly 
wisdom,  and  a  rich  Christian  experience,  fully  developed 
and  rendered  beautiful  by  every  Christian  grace,  he  was 
eminently  qualified  to  be  a  leader  in  the  Church.  He  was 
childlike  in  humility,  devout  in  spirit,  tender  in  counsel, 
fearless  in  the  defence  and  proclamation  of  the  pure  gospel 
of  Christ,  and  wholly  consecrated  to  the  service  of  his 
Master." 

There  are  many  others  who  should  be  affectionately  re- 
membered by  the  Church,  and  the  writer  would  aid  the 
recollection  if  there  was  in  his  possession  sufficient  informa- 
tion. Departed  brethren,  like  the  brothers,  James,  David, 
and  Henry  Hervey,  James  M.  Smith,  Robert  Glenn,  Rob- 
ert Dil worth,  A.  B.  Quay,  Cyrus  C.  Riggs,  and  William 
Annan,  whom  he  knew  to  be  faithful  servants.  Rev.  A. 
O.  Patterson,  D.D.,  of  West  Newton,  was  a  noble  minister. 
Rev.  Prof  J.  H.  Kennedy,  devout  and  learned,  and  so  was 
Rev.  Prof  I.  N.  McKinney.     I  knew  brother  Benjamin  C. 


94     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENT\^  YEARS. 

Critchlow  as  a  "  sweet  singer  "  in  the  Second  church,  Pitts- 
burgh, and  for  many  years  a  successful  pastor  at  New 
Brighton,  and  for  a  few  at  Greenville — lovely  as  a  Chris- 
tian, blessed  with  useful  children,  and  taken  suddenly  from 
the  house  of  one  of  them  to  his  eternal  rest. 

I  remember  forty-two  ministers  whose  kind  ministrations 
I  had  in  my  pulpit,  who  have  passed  away.  Farewell, 
dear  brethren,  till  we  meet  again  I 


CHAPTEE  XYI. 

Ministers  Who  Died  at  Philadelphia. 

DPw  AsHBEL  Green  was  chaplain  to  Congress  during 
the  Eevolutiouary  war,  and  was  once  a  pastor  in 
Philadelphia.  He  was  for  a  time  President  of 
Princeton  College,  New  Jersey ;  which  position  he  resigned, 
and  was  elected  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  in 
in  1824,  where  I  heard  him  deliver  the  opening  sermon  the 
next  year  with  a  good  deal  of  vigor  and  oratorical  power. 
He  became  the  editor  of  the  Christian  Advocate,  a  sound, 
conservative  monthly  magazine,  which  had  great  influence 
in  the  Church,  though  the  editor  was  not  so  severe  in  his 
condemnation  of  error  as  some  when  the  troubles  were 
brewing  which  divided  the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  was 
paternal  and  mild.  In  person  he  was  rather  large,  with 
full  face  and  swarthy  complexion,  w^eariug  his  diminished 
hair  (not  entirely  gray)  somewhat  long.  Though  I  had 
often  seen  him  at  the  Princeton  Seminary,  I  found  when  in 
the  Assembly  with  him  in  1834,  that  he  was  enfeebled. 
He  sat  thoughtfully  and  moved  his  face  as  though  he  was 
chewing,  and  yet  I  believe  he  escheiced  the  vile  stuff* — to- 
bacco. 

Dr.  James  P.  Wilson,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
church  in  Philadelphia,  where  the  Aseembly  sat  for  many 
years,  was  learned  and  refined,  and  choice  in  his  language. 
It  is  said  that  when  quoting  the  passage  about  the  "  crack- 

95 


96     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS- 

ling  of  thoi'DS  under  a  pot,"  he  used  the  term,  "  a  culinary- 
vessel. "  He  was  tall,  but  often  so  feeble  that  he  sat  and 
delivered  his  discourse.  His  countenance  was  pale  from 
the  loss  of  blood  by  repeated  hemorrhages  from  the  lungs, 
to  arrest  which  he  carried  a  lancet  which  he  used  upon 
himself.  I  have  in  manuscript  as  able  a  condensed  system 
of  theology  prepared  by  him,  with  most  satisfactory  expla- 
nantions  as  ever  was  written.  It  came  down  to  me  through 
his  personal  friend,  Dr.  Obadiah  Jennings.  And  if  there 
were  authority  to  do  so,  it  ought  to  be  published. 

Dr.  Cornelius  C.  Cuyler  was  pastor  of  the  Second  Pres- 
byterian church,  Philadelphia.  He  w^as  venerable  in  his 
appearance,  with  an  erect  and  tall  form,  and  hoary  hair, 
bland  in  his  manner,  evidently  having  a  kind  heart  toward 
men,  with  supreme  love  to  the  Saviour  and  his  cause.  He 
furnished  me  with  two  sermons,  which  were  published  in 
the  Presbyterian  Preacher  in  1835 ;  one  on  "  The  Nature 
of  the  Atonement,"  and  the  other  on  the  question,  "  Who 
Shall  Dwell  in  Heaven  ?"  But  neither  preachers  nor 
"  prophets  live  forever." 

Dr.  Ezra  Stiles  Ely  was  pastor  of  the  old  Pine  Street 
Third  Presbyterian  church,  Philadelphia,  and  Stated  Clerk 
of  the  General  Assembly  from  1825  to  1836.  He  then  ap- 
peared to  enjoy  good  health,  with  a  pleasing  countenance 
and  black  hair,  generous  in  his  conduct  and  sociable.  He 
was  frank  in  his  utterances,  and  often  pointed  in  his  preach- 
ing. He  became  editor  of  the  religious  paper  called  the 
Philadelphian,  which  w^as  considered  as  favoring  the  party 
that  was  called  Xew  School.  He  permitted  Universalist 
controversialists  to  have  a  place  in  the  columns  of  his 
paper,  and  he  answered  them,  burning  up,  he  said,  a  bas- 
ket of  shavings  with  one  coal.  In  the  course  of  time,  he 
became  much  occupied  with  the  new  college  to  be  estab- 
lished in  Missouri,  and  to  be  called  Marion.     Something  of 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.  97 

a  colony  was  to  be  constituted  in  behalf  of  literature  and 
religion.  But  disappointment  attended  the  effort,  and  that 
was  said  to  have  affected  his  mind  in  the  latter  part  of  life. 
In  the  former  part  of  it  he  wrote  the  book  entitled,  "  A 
Contrast  between  Calvinism  and  Hopkinsianism,"  which 
awakened  an  interest  for  a  time. 

Rev.  William  L.  McCalla,  of  Philadelphia,  was  a  nota- 
ble minister  in  his  day  for  courage  and  readiness  in  debate. 
If  Kentucky  imparts  a  brave  spirit  he  had  obtained  it 
there  or  elsewhere.  There  he  encountered  Alexander 
Campbell  in  debate  on  Baptism,  very  successfully.  He 
appeared  to  have  been  raised  up  for  some  special  work  in 
the  line  of  necessary  controversy,  and  would  not  have  been 
afraid  to  have  met  the  Pope,  nor  Satan,  as  did  his  Lord 
and  Master. 

Dr.  Thomas  H.  Skinner  was  pastor  of  the  Fifth  church, 
on  Arch  street,  Philadelphia.  He  was  rather  slender  in 
body,  with  high  forehead,  and  endued  with  strong  intellect- 
ual faculties,  eminent  for  piety,  and  witnessed  times  of  re- 
vival in  his  church. 

Dr.  William  Neill  for  some  years  was  pastor  in  the 
Sixth  church,  Philadelphia.  He  was  rather  tall  and  slen- 
der, with  hair  partially  gray,  gentle  in  his  manners,  be- 
loved as  a  minister  by  his  people,  and  highly  esteemed  by 
his  brethren.  He  was  President  of  Dickinson  College  at 
one  time,  and  also  Secretary  of  our  Board  of  Education  at 
another.  The  place  of  his  nativity  was  Washington  Coun- 
ty, Pa.,  and  he  had  received  his  early  academic  education 
at  Canonsburg. 

Rev.  James  Patterson  gathered  a  large  congregation  in 
the  Northern  Liberties,  Philadelphia,  and  was  eminently  a 
practical  man,  going  into  the  high  ways  and  lanes  of  the 
city,  and  experienced  many  seasons  of  numerous  ingather- 
ings into  his  church.  He  sought  not  to  be  distinguished 
for  his  learning,  but  sought  to  win  souls,  and  spake  as  "  a 
dying  man  to  dying  men." 


98     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

Kev.  William  Ramsey,  my  fellow-student  at  PrincetoD, 
had  been  a  missionary  in  India,  but  his  health  giving  way,, 
he  became  a  minister  in  South wark,  Philadelphia,  and  very 
much  followed  the  example  of  his  former  pastor.  Rev.. 
James  Patterson,  and  finished  his  course  only  a  few  years 
since,  after  great  usefulness. 

John  M.  Dickey,  D.D.,  late  of  Oxford,  Pa.,  was  my  class- 
mate at  Princeton.  He  succeeded  his  father  in  the  minis- 
try after  he  left  the  Seminary,  in  1827.  His  appearance 
was  youthful  and  slender  in  body,  but  cheerful  and  ardent 
in  spirit.  After  being  a  pastor  for  a  time,  he  became 
deeply  interested  in  the  education  of  colored  youth  to- 
preach  the  gospel.  He  started,  in  his  own  congregation, 
an  institution  called  Ashmun,  in  memory  of  the  Governor 
of  Liberia.  This  involved  him  in  pecuniary  responsibili- 
ties, of  which  he  informed  me.  Friends  sustained  him  ia 
his  noble  Christian  work.  It  grew  in  public  favor.  It  is- 
now  the  Lincoln  University,  enjoying  remarkable  evidence^ 
of  the  divine  blessing.  Of  the  two  hundred  and  twenty 
students  being  educated  there,  all  are  in  communion  of  the 
Church  but  seventeen.  Already  many  have  gone  forth 
as  useful  ministers.  The  appearances  are  that  God  intends- 
it  to  be  a  blessing  to  the  whole  African  race,  and  to  pre- 
pare men  to  labor  as  missionaries  on  the  dark  continent. 

Our  beloved  brother  Dickey  will  receive  the  gratitude 
of  future  generations  for  originating  such  an  institution 
when  sympathy  for  the  Africans  in  bondage  was  not  great. 
This  persevering  toil  has  prepared  the  way  for  the  educa- 
tion of  those  who  were  liberated  by  the  emancipation  pro- 
clamation of  President  Lincoln;  to  be  taught  not  only 
common  science,  but  the  way  of  salvation  through  Christy 
which  is  now  a  special  part  of  the  object  of  the  University. 
God  called  our  brother  suddenly  to  rest  while  walking  on 
the  street  in  Philadelphia. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Former  Professors  at  Princeton. 

BETWEEN  the  years  1824  and  1827,  Drs.  Alexander  and 
Miller  and  Professor  Hodge  were  (in  the  Presbyterian 
Church)  the  only  public  instructors  of  theological  stu- 
dents. Dr.  Alexander  commenced  this  work  in  1812. 
Twelve  years  afterward  he  was  still  vigorous  in  mind.  In 
body  he  was  rather  small,  with  some  grey  hairs.  As  he  sat 
in  the  recitation  room,  reclining  his  head  upon  his  hand, 
small,  piercing  eyes  looked  upon  the  students,  ready  to  ap- 
prove their  performances;  or,  when  need  be,  to  correct 
their  mistakes.  He  appeared  rather  reserved,  and  yet  in 
private  was  very  paternal,  exercising  his  thorough  know- 
ledge of  human  nature  with  great  skill. 

A  peculiarity  in  him  was  the  clearness  of  his  style  in 
teaching  and  preaching.  His  great  learning  enabled  him 
to  use  the  very  words — mostly  of  Saxon  origin — by  which 
his  hearers  comprehended  the  truth  easily.  This  example 
of  his  should  be  imitated  by  young  ministers  of  our  time. 
While  he  adapted  language  to  his  subject,  as  when  he 
wrote  his  volume  on  the  Canon  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures, 
and  that  on  the  Evidences  of  Christianity,  his  manner  of 
preaching  was  more  like  his  admirable  book  of  Christian 
Experience — clear,  practical  and  searching.  There  was 
no  going  outside  of  the  themes  of  the  Bible  to  find  some- 
thing new  and  entertaining.  He  condemned  unprofitable 
speculations  in  the  class  room,  and  never  practiced  them  in 
the  pulpit.  In  his  lectures  on  pastoral  care  to  the  students, 
lie  recommended  special  seasons  of  labor  to  promote  revi- 

99 


lOO      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

vals,  wisely  chosen,  with  the  choice  of  proper  persons  to 
give  aid  in  the  preaching,  I  remember  when  there  was  a 
revival  at  Princeton,  he  went  to  give  instruction  to  the 
young. 

Rev.  Dr.  Miller  became  a  Professor  in  1813.  While  I 
cannot  say  much  in  my  present  notice  of  either  of  these 
distinguished  and  godly  men,  yet  it  should  not  be  forgotten 
that  Dr.  Miller  was  among  the  most  complete  gentlemen 
that  have  honored  the  cause  of  Christ.  His  decorum  of 
speech  and  manner  was  not  assumed,  but  appeared  to  be 
the  result  of  having  the  spirit  of  the  Saviour.  He  was 
eminently  fitted  to  write  his  volume  for  young  ministers  on 
Christian  Manners.  He  could,  and  did,  in  his  volume 
on  Church  Government,  exhibit  great  learning  and  ability 
as  a  controversialist,  and  yet  also  the  spirit  of  a  gentle- 
man. His  hoary  hairs  and  kind  smile  were  adapted  to 
command  respect ;  and  yet  if  at  any  time  he  made  a  mis- 
take, he  was  ready  to  admit  it,  with  apology  to  his  stu- 
dents. In  this  he  has  left  a  pattern,  and  his  whole  life  was 
that  of  a  true  Christian  minister. 

Rev.  Professor  Charles  Hodge  occupied  the  chair  of 
Oriental  and  Biblical  Literature  in  1824,  and  had  a  re- 
markably youthful  appearance,  w^ith  light  hair,  and  almost 
beardless.  He  walked  with  his  head  inclined  forward,  as 
though  he  was  studying,  and  saluted  you  with  great  kind- 
ness and  love.  One  thing  well  worthy  of  being  remem- 
bered was  his  power  of  weaving  in  the  Scriptures,  as  was 
manifested  by  his  expressions  in  prayer,  as  well  as  by  the 
tenderness  of  his  remarks  in  the  conference  held  on  Sab- 
bath afternoon.  During  the  year  1826  he  went  to  spend 
some  time  in  the  University  at  Halle,  and  John  W.  Nevin 
became  assistant  teacher  in  his  department. 

At  this  time  the  godly  James  W.  Alexander  was  con- 
nected  with  the  College  as  a  teacher,  and  afterwards  be- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      lOl 

came  Professor  in  the  Seminary ;  and  Joseph  Addison 
Alexander,  his  brother,  was  pursuing  the  study  of  various 
languages.  Dr.  Robert  Baird,  a  western  man,  was  at 
Princeton,  a  teacher,  but  afterwards  became  the  heroic 
traveler  into  various  countries,  chiefly  to  promote  the 
cause  of  temperance.  My  relative,  Rev.  Dr.  Carnahan, 
also  a  western  man,  was  the  respected  President  of  the  Col- 
lege. All  these,  being  dead,  yet  speak.  Albert  B.  Dod 
left  the  Seminary  to  become  Professor  in  the  College.  A 
most  amiable  and  talented  brother,  but  he  did  not  live 
many  years.  About  a  year  since  I  stood  at  the  tombs  of 
all  these  excellent  Professors  with  sadness,  and  yet  thank- 
ful that  they  were  permitted  to  be  such  luminaries  in  this 
dark  world. 

9* 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


Transient  Reminiscences. 


Ton.  Moses  Hampton  was  a  benefactor  of  his  race, 
^   both   at  Somerset,  Pa.,  and   Pittsburgh.      In    these 

L  places  he  was  a  lawyer.      In  the  latter  a  Judge  of 

great  integrity,  after  having  represented  his  district  in  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States.  His  benevolent  mind  led 
him  to  devise  the  welfare  of  society  at  large,  to  aim  to  re- 
form the  vicious  and  find  employment  for  the  idle.  He 
was  a  true  temperance  man,  and  upon  suitable  occasions 
would  publicly  give  the  cause  his  advocacy  with  much 
power.  As  an  elder  in  the  Church  his  counsel  was  sought, 
and  his  general  Christian  influence  highly  appreciated. 
He  was  an  intense  student  of  the  Scriptures,  and  bore  the 
solemn  aspect  of  a  man  influenced  by  their  considerations 
and  borne  up  by  their  promises. 

THE  HALSEY  FAMILY. 

The  father,  Luther  Halsey,  was  only  a  licensed  minister, 
preferring  not  to  perform  the  duties  of  a  public  preacher. 
On  the  staff  of  General  Washington,  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  he  was  an  important  aid.  His  days  were  pro- 
longed for  great  usefulness  in  the  Church,  after  training- 
four  sons  for  the  ministry.  In  1830  he  spent  some  time  in 
Pittsburgh.  As  he  was  a  tall  man,  his  appearance  on  the 
street  upon  a  small  horse  made  him  an  object  of  attention, 
especially  as  he  stopped  often  to  make  benevolent  calls  and 
to  distribute  tracts.  He  was  not  so  grand  as  when  he  rode 
beside  Washington,  clothed  in  military  garb,  but  as  much 

102 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  03 

SO  as  the  great  "  Captain  of  salvation  "  when  he  rode  the 
streets  of  Jerusalem  upon  a  colt.  It  may  be  said  of  him 
what  Rev.  Dr.  Riddle  says  of  Paul,  "  He  was  not  a  man  of 
our  times."  Simplicity  and  courage,  '•  bringing  forth  fruit 
in  old  age,"  characterized  him  to  the  end  of  life. 

REV.    LUTHER   HALSEY,  D.D. 

Rev.  Dr.  Luther  Halsey  should  have  such  a  notice  as 
space  will  not  permit  me  to  give.  Tall  like  his  father, 
bland  in  his  countenance,  with  intelligence  in  his  eyes,  his 
words  and  whole  demeanor  made  him  the  representative  of 
a  true  Christian.  I  first  saw  him  at  Princeton,  a  Professor 
of  Natural  Science  in  the  College.  He  was  then  in  com- 
parative youth,  attractive  in  appearance  and  much  beloved 
by  the  students.  He  sometimes  occupied  the  place  of 
preacher  in  the  chapel  with  great  acceptance.  He  preached 
both  to  the  students  of  the  Seminary  and  the  College  in  the 
same  place.  Once  with  his  kind  eloquence  he  taught  the 
unconverted  students  that  if  they  could  not  open  their 
hearts  to  receive  Jesus,  they  could  keep  from  closing 
them.  Being  dead,  he  may  speak  through  me  the  same 
thing  to  others. 

On  becoming  a  Professor  in  the  Western  Theological 
Seminary,  in  1830,  he  soon  acquired  the  esteem  of  all  who 
saw  or  heard  him.  His  deliberate,  kind  and  instructive 
manner  of  speaking  profited  students  and  hearers  in  the 
churches.  But  the  time  came  when  those  who  would  not 
take  an  active  part  in  rending  the  Church  were  looked 
upon  by  some  with  suspicion.  This  led  him  to  resign  his 
Professorship  in  an  institution  in  which  he  felt  the  deepest 
interest.  Eventually  he  showed  it  by  the  gift  of  his  libra- 
ry, and  the  Directors  called  him  back  as  Professor  to  lec- 
ture. His  last  years  were  spent  partly  in  retirement  and 
study  in  Allegheny  City,  and  partly  east  of  the  mountains, 
in  New  Jersey.      Being  called  from  Hammondsville   to 


I04  KilL-Ui.Lt.UllUiNb    Ur    bH^Vl^iMY     y£.AK5>. 

NorristowD,  to  attend  the  funeral  services  of  his  brother's 
wife,  he  sickened  unto  death,  and  finished  his  long  course 
of  study  and  usefulness  on  earth,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty -six. 

From  a  knowledge  of  his  habit  of  recording  his  thoughts 
— having  been  an  inmate  of  his  family  for  months — I  am 
persuaded  that  there  is  much  in  manuscript  that  would 
benefit  the  Church  if  it  were  published.  His  modesty  and 
humility  may  have  kept  him  from  giving  to  the  world  his 
writings.  But  the  recollection  of  his  oral  communications 
will  be  to  his  friends  like  "frankincense  and  myrrh,"  which 
leaves  its  perfume  when  removed. 

REV.  J.  F.  HALSEY,  D.D. 

Eev.  Job  Foster  Halsey,  D.D.,  departed  this  life  re- 
cently. His  father  told  me  that  he  had  sought  the  Lord 
for  his  son's  salvation  in  early  life,  and  when  yet  but  two 
or  three  years  old,  the  father  attained  such  assurances  of 
his  being  adopted  into  Christ's  family,  that  he  afterwards 
had  no  doubt  but  that  Job  would  be  the  subject  of  divine 
grace.  I  think  I  am  at  this  period  justified  in  stating  this 
fact  to  encourage  other  parents  to  make  their  children  early 
in  life  subjects  of  importunate  prayer. 

My  first  knowledge  of  him  was  in  Princeton  Seminary 
in  1825.  There  he  evinced  that  warm-hearted  piety  that 
increased  with  growing  years.  He  was  ordained  pastor  of 
the  old  Tennent  church  in  1826,  and  entered  upon  his 
labors  ardently,  taking  an  active  part  in  the  resolution 
passed  by  a  large  assembly  of  eminent  men  at  Princeton 
College,  to  supply  every  family  in  New  Jersey  with  the 
Bible.  His  health  failing,  he  came  to  Pittsburgh  soon 
after  his  brother.  He  still  preached  some,  and  finally  be- 
came so  far  restored  in  his  voice  as  to  become  the  first  pas- 
tor of  the  church  in  what  was  then  called  Allegheny  town. 
Here  he  did  a  good  work  for  a  few  years,  when  his  health 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      IO5 

again  failed.  His  ardent  soul  wasted  tiie  strength  of  his 
body,  and  his  generosity  drained  his  pocket.  Subsequently 
he  taught  and  preached  in  New  Jersey,  and  finally  became 
the  much  beloved  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in 
Norristown  ;  and  on  his  eightieth  birthday  he  gracefully 
resigned  the  charge,  and  his  people  grateful  for  his  past 
services,  made  provision  for  his  future  support. 

He  still  preached  occasionally,  and  did  so  on  the  Sab- 
bath before  his  decease,  at  Chestnut  Hill,  whither  he  had 
gone  to  attend  the  funeral  of  his  son-in-law.  Returning  to 
Norristown,  the  cold,  which  he  had  for  some  days,  became 
alarming,  and  he  died  suddenly  while  his  daughter  was 
preparing  him  some  nourishment.  Though  learned  in 
many  things,  he  did  not — what  is  important  for  young 
ministers,  and  essential  for  aged  and  feeble  ones — remove 
the  obstructions  in  the  capillaries  and  the  skin  immediately 
by  external  means.  He  permitted  his  manly,  athletic 
frame  to  yield  submission  to  his  noble  mind,  which  was 
constantly  working  for  the  glory  of  God. 

ROBERT    BEER 

died  in  Pittsburgh,  a  worthy  elder  of  the  First  Presbyte- 
rian church.  He  was  remarkable  for  honesty  and  integ- 
rity in  all  his  transactions,  generous  to  the  poor,  and  liberal 
in  all  his  contributions  to  aid  the  cause  of  Christ.  He 
alone  sustained  a  missionary  in  a  foreign  land,  and  aided 
those  at  home.  He  was  conscientious  in  the  distribution  of 
his  money,  which  he  had  obtained  by  hard  industry  and 
wise  and  economical  management.  That  for  which  the 
Church  should  keep  him  in  special  remembrance  was  the 
sacrifice  that  he  made  to  preserve  the  sanctity  of  the  Sab- 
bath. That  he  might  not  be  a  partaker  in  that  sin  he  sold 
out  at  a  loss  his  interest  in  steamboat  stock,  and  declined 
to  join  companies  that  made  part  of  their  gains  on  the 
Sabbath. 


I06  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS, 

FRANCIS   G.  BAILEY 

was  an  active  elder  in  the  same  church  with  Mr.  Beer. 
They  were  workers  together  in  visiting  the  poor  and  sick, 
as  well  as  discharging  the  duties  incumbent  upon  them  as 
overseers  of  their  own  flock.  Mr.  Bailey's  countenance  in- 
dicated his  natural  kindness,  which  was  sanctified  to  the 
service  of  God.  When  I  last  saw  him,  in  his  feebleness, 
sitting  in  Presbytery,  looked  up,  with  a  smile  upon  his 
face,  and  evident  peace  in  his  heart,  and  said,  "I  am  just 
waiting  to  be  taken  home." 

WILLIAM    DICKSON 

became  a  devoted  Christian  in  the  church  on  Long  Island, 
below  Pittsburgh.  In  the  days  of  youth  his  mind  had 
been  well  furnished  with  scriptural  knowledge  from  the 
Bible  and  Catechism  and  books,  before  he  left  Scotland. 
Having  been  brought  to  consecrate  himself  anew  to  God, 
when  past  middle  life,  he  was  readily  received  by  the  dear 
people  on  that  isolated  spot  as  a  father,  and  made  an  elder. 
He  watched  over  them  with  affectionate  care.  He  was 
always  consistent  and  humble,  and  liberal  as  far  as  his 
limited  means  would  permit.  His  carpenter  shop  was  his 
closet  for  prayer ;  and  the  writer  feels  assured  (as  his  pas- 
tor) of  having  been  profited  by  him.  Above  eighty  years 
of  age,  he  cheerfully  bade  his  daughter  good-night,  but  be- 
fore morning  his  spirit  had  taken  its  flight  to  its  everlast- 
ing home. 

JOHN   POTTER 

lived  near  the  place,  in  Beaver  county,  where  Bethlehem 
church  is  now,  and  where  there  was  no  place  of  public 
worship.  He  gathered  the  wandering  children  into  a  barn 
and  alone  taught  a  Sabbath  School.  This  led  to  the  organ- 
izing of  a  congregation,  which  has  been  useful  in  divers 
ways,  and  especially  in  sending  forth  young  men  to  preach 
the  gospel.     Mr.  Potter  for  many  years  served  the  Church 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      IO7 

as  an  elder,  and  was  also  engaged  in  the  missionary  work 
of  the  American  Tract  Society.  Dr.  Breed,  of  Philadel- 
phia, has  written  an  interesting  memorial  of  him. 

JAMES  WILSON, 

who  had  a  hat  store  in  Pittsburgh,  and  was  an  elder  in  the 
First  Presbyterian  church,  was  an  early  Superintendent  of 
Sabbath  Schools  in  connection  with  it.  A  man  of  Chris- 
tian deportment,  he  was  much  beloved.  Having  lived  to 
a  good  old  age,  he  recently  passed  away  to  rest. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Persons   and   Events   in   Other   Branches   of  the 
Church. 

ntil  1858,  the  Associate  Church  was  distinct  from 

the  Associate  Reformed,  afterwards  the  united  body, 

V_>/  chose  the  name  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church. 

Before  closing  the  Recollections,  the  writer  asks  his  read- 
ers to  thankfully  remember  a  few  persons  and  events  of 
which  he  had  a  personal  knowledge. 

Abraham  Anderson  was  a  Professor  of  Languages  in 
Jefferson  College,  in  1820,  of  great  merit;  and  afterwards 
an  able  minister  in  the  Associate  Church,  then  often  called 
Seceders. 

Rev.  James  Ramsey,  D.D.,  was  pastor  near  Cannons- 
burgh,  Pa.,  and  afterwards  recorded  as  Professor  in  the 
College.  He,  also  became  instructor  in  the  associate  Divin- 
ity Hall.  Being  a  boarder  in  his  house  in  1822,  an  oppor- 
tunity was  given  to  know  him  and  his  excellent  wife  and 
daughter,  now  Mrs.  McElwee,  of  Frankfort  Springs.  His 
only  son,  James,  became  a  minister,  but  was  removed  by 
death.  The  father  was  a  plain,  kind  man,  well  informed 
in  theology ;  beloved  by  his  people,  respected  by  all ;  and 
though  he  had  formed  the  habit  of  feeling  his  beard  while 
preaching,  still,  that  did  not  hinder  the  flow  of  sound 
thought. 

At  his  house  some  acquaintance  was  formed  with  Dr. 
Anderson,  the  first  associate  teacher  of  Divinity,  who  may 
have  been  learned  in  their  peculiarities  ;  but  a  subsequent 
perusal  of  his  book,  called  "Alexander  and  Rufus,"  was 

108 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      IO9 

not  a  satisfactory  scriptural  nor  historical  answer  to  Dr.  J. 
M.  Mason's  "  Plea  for  Sacramental  Communion  on  Catho- 
lic Principles." 

James  Kodgers,  D.D.,  is  remembered  with  great  gratifi- 
cation. He  was,  about  1835,  minister  of  the  congregations 
of  Koblestown  and  Scottsville,  and  afterwards  he  became  a 
pastor  of  an  Associate  church  in  Allegheny  City.  He  was 
a  man  of  great  strength  of  mind  and  integrity,  ready  for 
every  good  work  of  humanity  and  Christianity.  When 
the  battle  against  liquor  as  a  drink  had  to  be  fought,  gird- 
ed with  might,  he  fought  it  whenever  invited.  In  my 
church,  and  with  me  in  other  places,  we  made  him  the 
"  chief  speaker."  It  cost  ministers  something  in  those  days 
to  advocate  the  cause  of  total  abstinence,  and  yet  he  did 
not  flinch  from  the  use  of  his  tongue  nor  his  pen.  After 
being  invited  to  address  a  large  congregation  against  the 
inroads  of  infidelity,  at  Clinton,  Pa.,  I  requested  him  to 
come  and  speak  in  the  church  there,  which  he  did  with 
great  power. 

Our  joint  labor  and  acquaintance  increased  my  desire 
that  he  should  espouse  the  views  of  Christian  communion 
taught  in  the  twenty-sixth  chapter  of  the  Westminster  Con- 
fession, and  took  occasion  to  lend  him  the  eight  able  essays 
on  "  Christian  Union,"  founded  on  Phil.  iii.  15,  16,  and 
written  by  Dr.  Chalmers,  Dr.  Balmer  of  the  United  Seces- 
sion Church,  and  Dr.  King  of  the  United  Secession  Church, 
Glasgow,  and  one  by  Dr.  Symington,  Professor  of  Divinity 
in  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  and  by  four  other 
eminent  ministers  in  Great  Britain.  He  returned  the  vol- 
ume without  commentary.  No  one  has  ever  showed  that 
the  way  of  duty  in  regard  to  communion,  as  taught  there- 
in, is  unwise  or  unscriptural. 

The  good  Dr.  Rodgers  became  afflicted  with  a  throat 
disease,  which  prevented  his  speaking  in  public,  and  ended 


I  lO      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.  • 

his   labors   on    earth   for   the    spmtual    employments    of 
heaven. 

Kev.  James  Rankin,  a  former  Associate  minister,  died  a 
United  Presbyterian  minister  at  Robison  church,  in  Wash- 
ington county,  Pa.,  where  he  was  pastor  until  shortly  after 
our  civil  war.  He  went  for  a  time  in  the  service  of  the 
Christian  Commission  as  a  voluntary  chaplain ;  for  he 
sought  the  salvation  of  the  soldiers,  and  labored  beyond 
the  strength  of  his  rather  infirm  body.  He  returned  to  his 
pastoral  work  with  great  diligence,  but  contracted  a  pul- 
monary affection,  which  slowly  bore  him  to  the  grave.  I 
frequently  saw  him,  and  being  (while  at  the  Valley)  my 
neighboring  minister,  I  aided  him,  especially  in  his  weak- 
ness. 

Now,  what  shall  I  say  of  his  Christian  character  ?  If 
any  of  my  readers  have  formed  a  picture  of  what  a  minis- 
ter could  be  in  this  life,  let  all  such  excellencies  be  looked 
upon  as  descriptive  of  him.  My  description  of  him  is 
found  in  Psalm  xxxvii.  37  :  "  Mark  the  perfect  man,  be- 
hold the  upright,  for  the  end  of  that  man  is  peace."  With- 
out wealth,  he  left  his  lovely  wife  and  three  children  in  the 
care  of  the  Saviour.  He  told  me  if  he  lived  he  wished  to 
have  open  sacramental  communion  with  all  the  "household 
of  faith." 

Rev.  T.  B.  Hanna  was  a  youthful  pastor  of  the  Associate 
Church,  who  died  at  Clinton,  lea^ang  a  father  in  the  min- 
istry, who  had  with  the  whole  family  great  reason  to  mourn 
for  one  so  promising  as  a  minister.  Perhaps  not  more  than 
others  for  oratory ;  but  he  manifested  much  of  the  S23irit  of 
Jesus,  and  was  ready  in  oj^position  to  the  spu'it  of  the 
world  to  build  up  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  On  the  day 
on  which  he  went  to  rest,  he  had  consented  to  preach  in 
my  church  against  the  great  evil  of  liquor.  God  j^ermitted 
a  ty]3hoid  fever  to  be  the  cause  of  his  removal,  to  the  great 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  1  I 

grief  of  the  people.     Loving  him  as  a  junior  servant  of  the 
Lord,  I  felt  that  bright  prospects  were  darkened. 

Rev.  Dr.  Bruce,  of  the  Associate  Church,  was  a  pastor 
in  Pittsburgh,  and  President  of  the  Western  University,  of 
mental  ability  and  of  genial  temperament,  and  with  Rev. 
Dr.  John  Black,  of  the  Reformed  Church,  was  associated  in 
the  instruction  of  the  youth  in  the  University.  Both  were 
honored  for  their  learning  and  integrity,  and  left  sons  to 
occupy  useful  spheres  in  public  life. 

Rev.  Dr.  Wilson,  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church 
(sometimes  called  Covenanter)  was  the  instructor  in  The- 
ology to  the  students  of  Divinity.  He  was  an  open-hearted, 
practical  man,  that  honestly  served  his  generation  and  was 
willing  to  go  to  the  country  and  lecture  on  behalf  of  the 
temperance  Reformation.  He  was  practical  in  his  preach- 
ing, as  well  as  historical.  I  remember  once  in  my  pulpit 
he  detailed  something  of  his  personal  experience,  and  main- 
tained the  duty  of  ministers  so  to  do,  for  the  good  of  their 
people  and  for  their  encouragement. 

Rev.  M.  Gibson,  of  the  same  branch,  was  aiming  to  de- 
fend the  truth  chiefly  in  his  public  services.  He  had  a 
jocose  boy  as  his  son  whom  the  grace  of  God  turned  to  be- 
come one  of  our  most  stable  Presbyterian  ministers,  and 
died  recently  in  the  Huntingdon  Presb}i:ery, —  William 
Gibson,  D.D. 

ASSOCIATE  PwEfor:med  ministers. 

My  readers  will  be  gratified  to  recollect  a  few  with 
whose  acquaintance  I  was  favored. 

Rev.  John  Graham  was  a  minister  at  Washington,  Pa., 
and  Professor  in  the  College.  He  was  pleasant  as  a  man, 
sociable  as  a  Christian,  substantial  in  his  attainments,  and 
instructive  as  a  preacher.  He  had  not  the  gift  of  continu- 
ance to  suit  all  his  hearers.  An  old  gentleman  from  the 
countrv  became  dissatisfied.     Thomas  McK.  T.  McKennan, 


112      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

the  lawyer,  whose  courteous  wit  all  tolerated,  met  this 
hearer  of  Mr.  Graham,  and  said,  "  You  do  not  like  your 
preacher,  because  he  gets  done  preaching  before  you  do 
sleeping,  and  you  have  to  awake."     It  was  true. 

Rev.  Joseph  Kerr,  D.D.,  pastor  at  St.  Clair  church,  and 
then  in  the  city  of  Pittsburgh,  favored  me  with  visits  to  my 
editorial  office.  He  was  dignified  in  person,  courteous  in 
manner,  an  able  preacher,  and  sociable  with  Christians  of 
other  denominations.  He  left  behind  him  worthy  sons  to 
fill  his  place  in  the  ministry.  Joseph,  a  promising  preach- 
er, did  not  live  many  years.  Like  his  father,  he  left  an 
excellent  name  and  character  that  ought  to  be  remem- 
bered. 

Rev.  John  T.  Pressley,  D.D.,  began  to  gather  a  church 
in  what  was  then  called  Alleghenytown,  before  there  was  a 
house  erected  for  worship.  His  industry,  and  the  numer- 
ous immigration  of  persons  into  this  country  accustomed  to 
the  use  of  the  same  version  of  Psalms  in  praise,  led  to  a 
rapid  growth  of  his  congregation.  He  was  instructive  in 
his  preaching,  without  much  originality,  and  persuasive 
in  his  intercourse  with  the  people.  He  early  espoused 
the  temperance  reformation,  and  assiduously  spoke  and 
taught  and  published  in  its  behalf  I  was  indebted  to 
him  for  a  sermon  for  the  pages  of  the  Presbyterian 
Preacher,  on  the  subject  of  "  Offences,"  in  which  he  very 
satisfactorily  presented  that  subject  in  application  to  total 
abstinence  from  intoxicants. 

It  would  have  been  gratifying  to  Presbyterians  if  he 
had  continued  in  the  same  sentiments  as  expressed  in 
his  letter  to  J.  M.  Mason,  D.D.,  (his  former  preceptor  in 
divinity),  before  he  left  South  Carolina,  on  Christian  com- 
munion and  other  church  usages.  (See  Dr.  Mason's  Life.) 
Dr.  Pressley,  having  adopted  the  unwarranted  view 
that  the  term,  "communion  of  saints,"  as  found  in  the 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  I  3 

twenty-sixth  chapter  of  the  Westminster  Confession  does 
not  include  church  communion  ;  the  plan  of  close  com- 
munion was  advocated  as  not  authorized  by  the  phrase  in 
the  second  section.  It  teaches,  which  communion  "is  to  be 
extended  unto  all  those  who  in  every  place  call  upon  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  To  this  he  added  in  the  discus- 
sion of  the  subject,  quotations  from  the  Scriptures  which 
did  not  prove  his  point  as  others  had  done.  He  continued 
to  teach  his  exclusive  principles,  which  some  brethren  of 
enlarged  minds  among  our  United  Presbyterians,  saw,  were 
inexpedient  and  without  scriptural  foundation. 

OTHER    ECCLESIASTICAL    CHANGES 

during  the  seventy  years  were  noticeable;  but  I  can  only 
record  a  few  more.  It  should  be  known  that  there  is  more 
intercourse  among  Christians  of  different  denominations, 
more  meetings  together  for  religious  work,  and  greater  in- 
crease of  sacramental  communion.  To  this  may  be  attrib- 
uted the  fact  that  conventions  against  the  great  common 
enemy — liquor — have  done  much  to  prepare  the  way.  It 
may  be  as  the  aged  Dr.  Wilson,  the  Covenanter,  taught  at 
a  meeting  on  the  subject,  in  Allegheny  City,  that  the 
Church  will  not  be  brought  properly  together  until  there 
are  other  persecutions.  We  hope  it  will  be  chiefly  by  the 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  there  will  be  union. 
During  these  many  years  much  good  has  been  accom- 
plished under  the  providence  of  God.  Evil  has  been  per- 
mitted and  committed  against  light.  False  systems  have 
rather  increased  in  number ;  but  not  in  proportion  to 
evangelical  religion  in  principle  and  by  profession.  Direct 
divine  influence  is  needed  to  supply  the  deficiencies  in  the 
teachings  in  some  forms  of  Christianity,  and  to  perfect  all. 

RECOLLECTIONS   OF   CAMPBELLISM. 

Early  in  this  century,  Thomas  Campbell  emigrated  to 

10* 


114      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

this  country  with  his  son  Alexander.  Though  favored  in 
temporal  things,  they  could  not  get  an  ecclesiastical  stand- 
ing in  the  Associate  branch  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
The  sou  was  authorized  by  the  father  to  officiate  in  the 
ministry.  He  was  a  young  man  of  talents  and  aspired  for 
honor.  He  early  taught  that  immersion  of  adults  was  the 
only  scriptural  mode  of  Christian  baptism.  Not,  however, 
agreeing  with  the  regular  Baptists  in  all  things,  he  sepa- 
rated from  them  and  started  a  new  form  of  belief,  which 
he  called  the  "  Ancient  Gospel,"  and  that  delivering  ora- 
tions should  be  the  form  of  preaching.  The  father,  a 
hoary- headed  man,  took  no  very  active  part  in  what  they 
called  the  Reformation.  Alexander,  who  was  called 
Bishop  in  the  third  volume  of  his  "  Christian  Baptist,"  in 
1827,  taught,  and  more  fully  in  the  Millennial  Harbinger, 
and  in  his  volume  entitled,  "  Christianity  Restored,"  the 
leading  errors,  showing  the  need  of  divine  teaching.  He 
published  thus :  "  It  is  one  of  the  monstrous  abortions  of 
a  purblind  theology,  for  any  human  being  to  be  wishing 
spiritual  aid  to  be  born  again."  So  afterwards  in  the  sixth 
volume  of  the  Harbinger,  page  356.  He  said,  "  So  believe 
1  that  all  the  influence  of  God's  good  spirit  now  felt  in  the 
way  of  conviction  or  consolation  in  the  four  qur.rters  of  the 
globe  is  by  the  word  written,  read  and  heard,  which  is 
called  the  living  oracles."  That  is,  a  mental  reception  of 
the  word,  as  we  receive  any  fact,  was  faith ;  and  that,  with 
going  under  water,  made  disciples.  This  was  easier  than 
to  rej^eut  with  a  broken  heart. 

While  there  have  been  individuals  who  have  been  no 
doubt  partakers  of  the  saving  power  of  the  Spirit,  before 
or  after  adhering  to  the  idea  that  the  only  true  baptism 
was  that  of  immersion,  still,  the  system,  as  such,  has  ex- 
hibited in  its  teachings  and  by  its  fruits,  the  need  of  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  undeceive  the  many  who  have 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  I  5 

taken  goiug  under  the  water  as  the  same  thing  as  having 
washed  away  their  sins,  and  as  being  "  born  again."  To 
correct  such  delusions,  as  well  as  to  sanctify  true  believers, 
the  world  needs  the  "  Spirit  of  all  truth,"  wdiich  Jesus 
promises,  and  which  he  is  waiting  to  send  upon  all  flesh, 
when  desired  and  prayed  for  with  the  wdiole  heart.  For 
want  of  it,  darkness  reigns. 


APPENDIX. 


January  1,  1884. 
ItECOLLECTIOWS  BY  S.  C.  JENJSTy^GS. 

Y  parents  resided  in  Burgettstown,  "Washington 
county,  Pa.  My  mother's  name  before  marriage 
__'^J_was  Mercy  Chidester.  I  had  a  sister  who  was  older 
than  myself,  and  a  brother  younger.  I  was  born  on  the 
19th  day  of  February,  1803.  My  mother,  by  a  pulmonary 
affection,  was  taken  from  this  world  when  I  was  between 
three  and  four  years  old.  My  chief  recollections  of  her 
are  few.  She  was  careful  to  notice  that  her  children  closed 
their  hands  during  family  worship,  conducted  by  my 
father.  The  evening  of  the  day  she  departed,  I  remember 
being  led  across  the  fields,  weeping,  to  my  grandfather 
Chidester's. 

My  father  was  Dr.  Ebenezer  Jennings,  who  practiced 
medicine  extensively,  and  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
Legislature  to  represent  Washington  county,  at  Lancaster, 
in  1806.  While  there,  he  procured  at  Philadelphia  the 
vaccine  matter  that  Dr.  Jenner  of  London  had  discovered 

117 


I  1 8     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENT\^  YEARS. 

to  be  a  preventive  of  small-pox.  On  his  return  home  he 
tried  it  on  his  children  and  others.  Having  been  elected 
a  second  time  to  the  Legislature,  and  being  benevolent  and 
persevering,  he  started  under  the  influenza,  having  espe- 
cially in  view  the  passage  of  an  act  of  the  Assembly  to 
have  all  the  poor  of  the  State  vaccinated  gratuitously.  In 
this  he  succeeded  ;  but  his  efforts  and  exposure  fixed  upon 
him  a  consumption  of  the  lungs,  in  which  state  he  returned. 
He  was  nominated  as  a  candidate  to  represent  his  district 
in  Congress;  but  he  became  more  and  more  emaciated,  so 
that  by  the  following  November,  1808,  his  life  on  earth 
ended,  in  the  32d  year  of  his  age,  leaving  his  children  or- 
phans. He  made  arrangements  for  their  temporal  welfare, 
and  committed  them  to  a  covenant-keeping  God.  When 
too  weak  to  rise  and  pray  with  them,  he  had  his  little  son 
Jacob  put  behind  him  on  the  bed,  and  the  two  others  to 
kneel  by  his  bedside,  and  with  the  tears  of  an  affectionate 
Christian  father,  looked  up  to  God  in  their  behalf.  On  a 
stormy  day,  his  mortal  remains  were  laid  by  my  mother 
(who  died  about  two  years  before),  in  the  cemetery  at 
Cross  Creek  church,  where  they  had  dedicated  their  chil- 
dren to  God  in  baptism,  as  administered  by  that  servant  of 
God,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Marquis. 

During  my  father's  life  he  had  designated  the  kindred 
with  whom  he  wished  each  of  his  children  to  remain  after 
his  decease.  I  was  to  be  under  the  care  of  my  grandfather. 
Dr.  Jacob  Jennings,  and  his  wife,  my  father's  step-mother, 
for  whom  he  had  a  great  regard,  as  well  as  for  her  sou, 
James  Carnahan,  afterwards  President  of  the  College  of 
New  Jersey,  and  whose  name  became  part  of  mine.  While 
he  lived  he  guarded  with  paternal  care  his  children  from 
bad  influences.  When  taking  me  from  Washington 
county  to  Dunlap's  Creek,  we  passed  the  country  taverns, 
at  the  door  of  which  there  were  swearing  persons,  and  he 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  I  9 

advised  me  to  put  my  hands  to  my  ears  that  I  might  not 
hear.  Still,  I  was  afterwards  placed,  so  that  I  was  often 
within  the  hearing  of  vile  persons,  in  the  employment  of 
my  friends,  such  as  should  not  be  allowed  to  associate  with 
children. 

There  were  those  among  my  kindred  who  did  what  my 
departed  parents  would  have  done.  My  grandmother 
Chidester  in  her  feebleness  could  not  attend  the  worship  of 
God  at  Cross  Creek,  and  during  the  absence  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  family  spoke  to  us,  her  orphan  grandchildren, 
and  prayed  with  us. 

When  the  time  came  for  my  permanent  removal  from 
my  maternal  grandfather's  some  fifty  miles,  and  to  leave 
my  sister  and  little  brother,  and  kind  brothers  and  sisters 
of  my  mother,  it  gave  my  young  heart  painful  anguish. 
But  it  had  been  my  father's  arrangement  that  I  should  be 
with  his  father,  then  an  aged  minister  and  physician,  who 
died  February,  1813,  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine.  Having 
served  his  country  as  surgeon  in  the  army  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  as  a  skillful  physician  in  New  Jersey,  and  in 
Western  Pennsylvania,  and  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  for 
more  than  twenty  years,  and  was  the  first  Moderator  of  the 
Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  in  1802.  Besides  the  removal  of  my 
father  by  death,  he  had  been  called  to  part  with  his  eldest 
son,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years  with  con- 
sumption, in  the  exercise  of  Christian  faith.  At  this  time, 
also,  his  daughter  Sarah,  who  had  been  married  to  Dr. 
Simonson,  had  left  the  world  as  a  Christian  dies. 

OF    THE   FALLING   WORK, 

or  the  great  revival  in  most  of  the  churches  in  Western 
Pennsylvania  during  the  first  part  of  the  century,  I  have 
some  recollection.  Though  the  more  powerful  manifesta- 
tions of  it  had  passed  before  I  came  to  my  grandfather's  to 
reside,  the  eflects  of  it  were  seen  in  the  devoted  piety  of 


I  20  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

many  men  and  women  who  had  been  subjects  of  the  work. 

I  have  given  reasons  for  the  decline  of  religion,  such  as 

the  frequent  use  of  whiskey  and  the  declaration  of  war 

with  Great  Britain.     (See  Centennial  Volume,  page  429.) 

MY   EDUCATION. 

I  had  only  the  advantage  of  the  very  imperfect  common 
schools,  until  in  1817  Rev.  William  Johnston,  who  had  be- 
come pastor  of  the  Dunlap's  Creek  congregation,  com- 
menced teaching  a  class  of  boys  the  Latin  Grammar.  In 
January,  1818, 1  went  to  Washington  to  enter  the  prepara- 
tory department  of  the  College. 

My  brother  was  separated  from  us  by  being  taken  to 
Indiana,  under  the  charge  of  our  Uncle  Jonathan,  the  first 
representative  in  Congress  of  the  Territory,  and  the  first 
Governor  of  the  State. 

My  location  at  Washington  was  not  profitable  for  study. 
My  uncle,  then  pastor  of  the  church  at  Steubenville,  had 
me  enter  the  academy  taught  there,  in  1819,  by  Salmon 
Cowles,  a  pious  man,  who  was  studying  for  the  ministry ; 
and  part  of  the  time  the  teaching  was  performed  by  John 
Moore  and  Donald  Mcintosh,  who  also  became  useful  min- 
isters, as  well  as  Mr.  Cowles.] 

During  the  autumn  of  that  year,  under  the  preaching  of 
Rev.  Dr.  Herron,  of  Pittsburgh,  who  was  assisting  my 
uncle  at  a  communion,  my  mind  became  deeply  impressed 
with  conviction,  with  a  sense  of  the  need  of  salvation.  I 
had  had  some  transitory  impressions  in  childhood,  and  oc- 
casionally afterwards,  but  God  was  pleased  to  make  this 
the  season  of  my  being  led  to  seek  the  Saviour.  For  about 
two  months  attempting  to  pray  in  a  closet,  sometimes  seven 
times  in  the  day,  and  being  impressed  with  all  religious 
services,  and  sometimes  prayed  with  by  my  uncle  apart 
from  his  family.  At  one  time  I  was  led  into  the  mistake 
that  if  I  was  to  be  saved  I  would  be,  which  lulled  anxiety 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  2  I 

for  a  time.  But  reading  one  of  the  sermons  of  Kev.  John 
Newton,  the  pious  poet,  on  Matt.  xi.  28-9  :  "  Take  my 
yoke  upon  you  and  learn  of  me,  &c.,"  convictions  were 
renewed  and  a  sense  of  entire  dependence  on  God  was  felt, 
and  in  this  state  of  mind  I  was  led  to  put  my  entire  trust 
in  Jesus,  which  was  followed  by  a  calm  peace,  such  as  I 
never  had  before ;  and  which,  I  hope,  was  the  beginning 
of  new  life.  With  some  fear.  I  was  led  the  following  April, 
to  profess  religion  in  my  uncle's  church  at  Steubenville. 
I  was  profited  by  a  conference  meeting  which  my  uncle 
appointed  for  the  male  members  of  the  church,  in  which 
they  detailed  their  religious  experience,  and  made  sugges- 
tions, along  with  prayer.  And  also  by  the  conversation 
of  a  plain,  pious  student,  Robert  Rutherford,  who  after- 
wards became  a  minister. 

On  the  20th  of  May,  1820,  I  became  a  student  in  Jeffer- 
son College,  and  a  boarder  in  the  family  of  Rev.  William 
McMillan,  D.D.,  the  President.  He  was  a  plain,  substan- 
tial minister,  whom  I  ordinarily  heard,  preach  in  the  col- 
lege hall.  I  attended,  during  the,  day  at  Chartiers  to  hear 
his  uncle,  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  McMillan.  His  preaching, 
in  those  days  had  not  the  variety  that  it  probably  once 
had.  Two  leading  general  subjects  made  the  chief  dis- 
courses, viz. :  searching  sermons  as  to  evidence  of  being 
truly  Christians ;  and  second,  alarming  discourses  to  the 
impenitent,  especially  in  the  application  of  his  sermons. 
The  spirituality  and  extent  of  the  law  and  its  penalty, 
which  he  had  found  so  adapted  to  make  the  careless  feel 
their  need  of  a  Saviour,  he  still  employed.  Sometimes  it 
appeared  rather  untimely,  with  a  great  sameness  in  public 
prayers.  His  days  of  close  observation  had  then  gone  past. 
But  still,  to  congregations  who  had  not  often  heard  him, 
his  preaching  was  attended  with  great  power.  He  took  a 
different  view  of  duty  from  what  is  often  taken  now.     He 


122       RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

sought  not  to  please  men,  but  clothed  his  sermons  with  ter- 
rific language,  adapted  to  awaken  sinners  to  a  sense  of 
their  need.  During  the  three  years  which  I  sat  as  a  hearer 
of  Dr.  John  McMillan,  the  Lord's  Supper  was  often  ad- 
ministered in  the  grove  near  the  house  of  worship.  He 
adopted  the  scriptural  method  of  causing  applicants  by  ex- 
amination to  "  give  a  reason  of  the  hope"  that  was  in 
them,  and  only  desired  to  add  to  the  Church  such  as  should 
be  saved.  The  Church  generally  had  a  greater  number  of 
those  who  gave  evidence  of  regeneration  ;  but  the  means  of 
information,  as  to  the  state  of  the  world,  were  not  so  great,, 
nor  the  opportunity  for  carrying  on  evangelistic  work,  was 
not  so  frequent. 

The  attention  of  students  was  not  often  turned  to  the 
heathen,  and  of  the  excellent  fellow  students  of  my  class  at 
College,  only  Wells  Bushnell  for  a  time  went  as  a  mission- 
ary to  the  Indians.  Another,  who  was  graduated  just  be- 
fore me.  Dr.  Williamson,  became  a  physician  and  minister 
to  the  Sioux  tribe  of  Indians,  and  was  permitted  to  spend  a 
long  life  among  them  with  great  success  in  their  evangeli- 
zation, and  to  be  succeeded  by  his  family  in  the  same  work 
of  usefulness.  Under  the  direction  of  the  American  Board 
for  a  time,  he  was  remarkably  blessed  in  his  work,  and 
will  be  in  "  everlasting  remembrance." 

On  graduating  in  the  spring  of  1823,  it  was  painful  to 
leave  the  President  of  the  College,  Dr.  M.  Brown,  Prof 
Miller  and  Prof  Smith,  and  part  with  my  classmates. 

I  went  to  visit  my  sister  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  then  a  vil- 
lage of  about  800  inhabitants.  Shortly  after  arriving,, 
there  was  an  opening  as  the  teacher  of  an  academy.  I  ac- 
cepted the  offer.  A  young  lady  taught  the  small  scholars 
in  one  department  of  an  unfinished  building,  and  I  all  the 
balance  of  the  youth  in  the  town,  which  included  a  few 
pupils  studying  Latin  and  a  variety  of  English  branches. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      123 

In  the  spring  of  1823,  there  was  no  stated  preacher.  The 
Presbytery  sent  some  supplies — excellent  men — Caleb  Pit- 
kin, John  Seward,  William  Hanford,  Dr.  Giles  H.  Cowles, 
and  Joseph  Treat.  The  latter  a  man  of  great  simplicity  of 
Christian  character,  and  yet  of  adaptedness  to  undeceive. 
The  only  place  for  any  public  assembly  to  meet  for  wor- 
ship was  the  school  room  in  which  the  young  lady  taught. 
The  whole  building  was  not  finished,  and  as  yet  there  was 
neither  court-house  nor  church.  When  a  public  meeting 
of  the  citizens  was  called  to  decide  whether  they  would 
invite  the  College  (which  had  been  located  at  Burton)  to 
change  its  place  to  Cleveland,  it  met  in  one  of  the  school 
apartments.  The  substantial,  sound  men  of  the  town,  such 
as  Judge  Williamson,  lawyer  Cowles,  and  merchant  Elisha 
Taylor,  advocated  its  location.  Some  others  of  an  infidel 
tendency  of  mind,  opposed  it  being  brought  there,  because 
there  was  to  be  a  theological  class  attached  to  it,  and  one 
speaker  said  he  would  rather  have  the  yellow  fever  there 
three  months.  At  one  period  of  the  debate,  I  rather 
thought  the  majority  would  be  against  it;  but  the  elo- 
quence of  merchant  Taylor,  one  of  the  three  male  Presbyte- 
rians of  the  town,  appeared  to  carry  the  votes  for  its  loca- 
tion in  Cleveland. 

The  death  of  three  of  the  excellent  female  Presbyterian 
members  occurred,  and  only  ten  members  were  left  during 
the  very  sickly  year  of  1823.  At  the  social  meeting  held 
on  the  Lord's  day,  when  there  was  no  preaching,  there 
were  but  three  men,  two  Baptists  and  one  Presbyterian,  to 
lead  in  public  prayer.  This  state  of  things  continued  until 
Kev.  Stephen  I.  Bradstreet  engaged  to  preach  one-half  the 
time,  and  the  other  at  Euclid  church.  He  was  a  minister 
of  force  in  his  sermons  and  usefulness  in  establishing  the 
people  in  the  way  of  duty,  though  as  yet  there  was  no  or- 
ganized church.      He   afterwards   became   editor   of  the 


I  24      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

Ohio  Observer,  and  in  a  few  years  passed  away,  leaving  a 
small  family.  My  former  pupil,  Samuel  Williamson,  Esq., 
conveyed  me  to  his  grave  in  the  city  of  Cleveland,  in  1875, 
where  I  felt  sad  in  recollecting  his  early  departure,  and 
that  there  was  no  more  special  memorial  erected  at  his 
grave. 

With  the  opening  spring  of  1824,  I  was  attacked  with  a 
lingering  fever,  which  caused  a  cessation  of  my  teaching, 
and  was  followed  by  fever  and  ague.  Before  leaving  my 
sister  and  her  husband,  we  were  visited  by  my  only  brother, 
who  had  been  in  Indiana  with  our  uncle,  and  whom  I  had 
not  seen  for  nine  years.  He  arrived  in  the  night,  and  on 
waking  up  in  the  morning,  I  found  by  my  side  one  w^hom  I 
had  last  seen  as  a  boy,  now  a  young  man.  We  soon  passed 
on,  visiting  our  relatives  in  Ohio,  to  Washington,  Pa., 
where  he  was  about  to  enter  college.  I  spent  the  summer 
recruiting  my  health  and  making  arrangements  to  go  to 
Princeton  as  a  student  of  theology. 

A  part  of  the  time  I  spent  with  my  cousin  Lucinda  and 
her  husband.  Dr.  David  Porter,  from  whom  I  derived 
much  practical  knowledge  in  the  treatment  of  the  sick, 
and  which  helped  to  prepare  me  for  some  usefulness  in  that 
way  after  I  became  a  minister.  I  had  acquired  a  farther 
knowledge  of  mankind  while  residing  in  Cleveland.  And 
God,  in  his  good  Providence,  had  disciplined  me  by  afflic- 
tion of  body,  and  my  desire  to  be  useful  had  increased.  So 
that  when  Dr.  Carnahan  came  on  in  the  autumn  to  visit 
his  mother,  I  returned  with  him  to  Princeton,  to  the  Sem- 
inary. 

Some  sensations  of  liver  disorder  had  rather  increased, 
so  that  when  the  session  of  study  closed,  I  was  induced  to 
go  through  the  city  of  New  York  to  the  springs  at  Sara- 
toga to  spend  a  few  weeks.  I  boarded  in  the  Christian 
family  of  Mr.  Taylor,  where  the  Bible  was  more  studied 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  25 

than  in  any  house  I  have  ever  been  in,  for  practical  pur- 
poses, to  the  general  advantage  of  the  inmates.  Eev. 
George  C.  Beckwith  also  boarded  there,  a  promising  young 
man,  who  was  afterwards  for  many  years,  the  Secretary  of 
the  American  Peace  Society. 

"Without  having  found  any  special  advantage  from  the 
springs,  I  returned  at  the  commencement  of  the  summer 
session  at  Princeton.  There  I  had  the  sympathy  of  many 
kind  brethren,  some  of  whom  I  had  studied  with  at  Col- 
lege. And  there  I  enjoyed  the  fellowship  of  Robert  Baird, 
who  was  principal  instructor  of  the  academy,  and  of  whom 
I  had  had  some  knowledge  in  boyhood,  as  the  son  of  one 
of  the  elders  in  my  grandfather's  congregation  at  Dunlap's 
Creek.  He  did  not  then  know  that  he  was  to  be  called  to 
cross  the  ocean  often,  and  "stand  before  kings,"  to  advo- 
cate in  Europe  the  cause  of  temperance,  and  other  good 
objects,  till  a  late  period  in  life. 

KETUPvN    TO    THE    WEST. 

There  being  no  great  change  in  my  health  during  the 
summer  of  1825,  I  concluded  at  the  end  of  the  summer 
session,  to  return  with  my  friend,  AVells  Bushnell,  by  the 
way  of  Baltimore,  and  call  and  see  my  uncle,  Samuel  K. 
Jennings,  a  Methodist  Protestant  minister,  and  Professor 
in  the  AVashington  Medical  College.  He  was  full  of  busi- 
ness, and  not  a  man  of  many  words,  and,  seeing  my  affec- 
tion of  the  liver  was  chronic,  he  advised  heat  and  friction, 
and  s:iid  in  a  short  way,  "  Keep  on  your  horse !  keep  on 
your  horse !"  But  I  had  two  years  of  my  course  to  go 
through  at  Princeton.  Still  I  went  back  to  Washington 
Pa.  After  the  space  of  two  months,  my  uncle  Obadiah  ad- 
vised me  to  return  again  to  Princeton,  which  I  did  by  way 
of  Pittsburgh.  There  I  joined  Kev.  J.  C.  Crane,  Avho  died 
in  a  few  daj^s.     So  strange  was  the  dispensation  of  God's 

11* 


126  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

providence  that  a  minister  so  promising  and  so  much  be- 
loved should  be  called  to  finish  his  course  so  suddenly !  I 
was  younger  and  feebler  than  he,  but  by  special  care  in 
keeping  my  feet  warm,  which  he  did  not  do,  I  was  con- 
tinued and  he  removed.  Thus  we  can  see  the  connection 
between  the  means  and  the  end ;  but  when  God's  time  ap- 
portioned to  man  has  come,  mistakes  are  permitted  to  ac- 
complish his  holy  will.  Through  Mr.  Crane's  ingenuity 
we  were  freed  from  the  profanity  to  which  passengers  were 
in  those  days  subject.  In  his  mild,  dignified  way,  he 
would  say  to  the  drivers  of  the  stages,  if  there  was  any 
swearing  necessary  he  was  to  do  that,  and  the  driver  was 
to  manage  the  horses.  To  this  bargain  they  would  consent, 
and  it  usually  secured  the  avoidance  of  the  name  of  God 
in  vain,  whereas,  if  he  had  rebuked  the  sin  when  com- 
mitted, the  depravity  of  the  driver  would  have  given  it  a 
repetition. 

ABOUT   JANUARY,    1826, 

I  again  joined  my  former  class  in  the  Theological  Semin- 
ary, and  was  received  very  kindly  by  the  Professors  and 
my  fellow  students,  who  had  sympathized  with  me  in  my 
previous  weakness.  Though  I  had  lost  something  by  ab- 
sence, I  was  enabled  to  keep  my  place  and  to  enter  upon 
trials  for  licensure  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick. 
During  the  next  spring  vacation,  I  was  at  the  meeting  of 
the  General  Assembly  at  Philadelphia,  when  my  uncle,  for 
the  people  about  Pittsburgh,  advocated  Allegheny  City  as 
the  location  for  the  Western  Seminary,  and  Dr.  Blythe 
and  Dr.  Hoge  for  some  other  place  farther  West. 

During  the  autumnal  vacation,  I  was  occupied  very 
much  in  preparing  my  trial  pieces  to  be  presented  to  Pres- 
bytery. When  the  month  of  February,  1827,  came  around, 
I  was  licensed  in  the  oratory,  in  company  with  Rev.  Dan- 
iel Deruelle,  who  soon  settled,  and  was    afterwards  em- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  27 

ployed  in  different  agencies  of  the  Cliurch.  And  when 
thus  occupied  in  traveling  in  the  South,  he  died  suddenly. 
He  was  found  in  his  vehicle,  drawn  by  his  horse  off  the 
road. 

My  first  invitation  to  preach  after  licensure,  was  in  the 
Pines  of  New  Jersey,  a  place  destitute  of  churches,  but 
having  a  large  school-house,  in  which  Mr.  McDermot 
taught  a  Sabbath-school,  a  godly  man,  who  after^vards  be- 
came a  Presbyterian  minister  and  settled  in  Ohio. 

My  next  invitation  to  preach  was  at  Bound  Brook,  N. 
J.,  in  the  absence  of  the  pastor.  I  did  not  know  that  I 
was  where  my  great-grandfather,  Jacob  Jennings,  had  been 
a  ruling  elder  in  great  repute,  especially  as  a  "peace- 
maker." But  since  I  have  seen  his  grave,  partly  under 
the  addition  made  to  the  house  of  worship.  He  and  my 
grandfather,  his  son,  had  passed  through  times  of  great 
trial  during  the  revolutionary  war  against  Great  Britain. 

VISIT  TO  NEW  YORK  AND  BERKSHIRE  COUNTY. 

Hearing  of  the  work  of  grace  in  parts  of  New  York,  and 
especially  in  Berkshire  county,  Mass.,  I  determined  that  on 
the  recurrence  of  spring,  as  my  last  vacation,  to  go  and 
hear  and  observe  what  the  Lord  had  done,  as  a  practical 
preparation  for  entering  my  ministry  as  a  preacher  of  the 
gospel.  The  following  is  what  I  saw  and  did  during  this 
tour  for  a  few  weeks  : 

On  my  way  I  called  at  several  places  where  divine 
power  had  been  displayed  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and 
conversed  with  ministers  of  experience.  At  Kinderhook, 
I  was  requested  to  stop  some  time  and  preach.  I  did  so 
and  was  much  interested  in  the  people,  whom  I  left  never 
to  see  again,  having  conversed  with  many  that  were 
anxious,  and  with  some  in  the  town  who  were  gain- 
sayers. 


I  28  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

THE    DAY    OF    THE    COXVENTION 

at  Great  Barrington  was  one  of  profit,  in  hearing  the  min- 
isters who  had  received  much  of  their  wisdom,  in  winning 
souls,  from  Dr.  A.  Nettleton,  and  who  then  had  met  to 
speak  of  what  God  had  done  in  bringing  to  repentance, 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Association,  about  3,000  persons 
during  the  last  few  months.  Their  mode  was  to  "  pro- 
pound "  candidates  for  membership  about  three  months. 
This  kept  them  from  hasty  admissions,  and  adding  to  their 
number  unconverted  persons,  who  afterwards  dishonor  the 
cause  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Before  leaving  Princeton,  I  visited  the  home  of  two 
aged  people,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fort,  five  miles  distant  at  Stony- 
Hill,  where  I  often  went  to  speak  to  assemblies  on  the  Sab- 
bath. While  there,  at  one  time,  I  saw  a  black  man  lying 
with  his  limbs  extended  in  the  air.  He  said  it  was  to  cool 
them.  He  had,  when  a  child,  been  brought  from  Africa 
by  slavers,  who  shot  his  father  when  upon  a  tree  throwing 
down  nuts  to  the  children.  Though  the  slave  ship,  which 
had  a  cargo  of  young  slaves,  was  chased,  it  succeeded  in 
bringing  them  into  Trenton  before  slavery  was  abolished, 
and  in  selling  them,  he  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  very  cruel 
master,  who  beat  him  severely  and  allowed  his  feet  to  be 
frost-bitten.  A  Quaker  took  compassion  on  him  and  pur- 
chased him  and  set  him  free.  And  now,  notwithstanding 
all  he  had  sufl^ered,  for  so.long  a  time,  in  divers  ways,  he 
was  thankful  he  was  brought  to  this  country,  for  thereby 
he  got  to  know  a  precious  Saviour. 

On  my  return  to  Princeton,  I  boarded  at  a  farm  house 
with  two  of  my  special  friends,  William  S.  Plumer  and 
William  P.  Aldrich,  each  of  whom  became  eventually  a 
Professor  in  western  institutions.  The  one  a  Professor  in  the 
Western  Theological  Seminary,  and  the  other.  Dr.  Al- 
drich, for  many  years  in  Washington  College,  and  pastor 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  29 

of  a  country  congregation.  Both,  at  this  writing,  January, 
10,  1884,  have  gone  to  their  reward,  with  all  my  class- 
mates, numbering  33,  except  two,  as  far  as  I  know,  viz., 
Wm.  P.  Cochran  and  Peter  Hassinger.  In  the  room  in 
the  Seminary,  opposite  the  one  I  occupied,  was  the  study 
of  Peter  J.  Gulick,  an  active  Christian,  who  was  spared  a 
long  life  on  one  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  to  see  his 
sons  take  his  place  as  missionaries,  and  a  daughter  as  a 
missionary  to  Japan,  with  whom  he  passed  some  time, 
when  God  took  him,  having  given  him  to  see  the  fruit 
of  his  labors  on  earth. 

One  of  my  classmates,  George  B.  Whiting,  a  lovely, 
holy  man,  went  as  a  missionary,  first  to  Jerusalem,  and 
afterwards  was  permitted  to  live  a  few  years  at  Beyrout, 
in  Syria.     He  did  not  live  long. 

The  close  of  the  session  soon  came  around  when  class- 
mates must  part  and  leave  their  beloved  Professors,  and 
go  to  preach  the  gospel.  Rev.  William  Sickles,  my 
room-mate,  accompanied  me  through  Baltimore  to  Wash- 
ington City.  I  preached  in  Alexandria  during  the  Sab- 
bath. After  that,  I  left  him  in  Virginia,  while  I  went 
on  to  the  old  residence  of  my  grandfather  in  Fayette 
county,  Pa. 

After  going  to  Washington,  I  joined  my  brother,  who 
bad  just  graduated  there  with  honor,  and  accompanied 
him  into  Ohio,  to  Mansfield,  where  my  agency  for  the 
American  Bible  Society  was  to  begin.  After  he  spent 
some  time  with  our  sister,  he  went  to  Indiana  to  commence 
the  study  of  law,  not  yet  having  felt  the  constraining  love 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  devote  himself  to  the  sacred  ministry. 

MY    WORK. 

My  work  began  by  preaching  in  each  township  in  the 
several  counties,  and  forming  a  society  for  the  circulation 
of   the    Bible.      A  committee  was  to   visit  each    family. 


130     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

Where,  persons  wished  to  purchase  they  had  the  opportu- 
nity. When  they  were  unable  to  do  so,  a  copy  of  the  sa- 
cred yolume  was  giyen  them  by  an  expenditure  of  the 
money  raised  by  each  society.  Then  delegates  were  sent 
up  to  the  county  seat,  and  through  them  there  was  a  cen- 
tral organization  for  permanent  work,  by  a  connection  with 
the  parent  society  at  New  York.  To  accomplish  this  ar- 
rangement I  preached  and  explained  to  the  people  in  each 
township,  and  was  seryant  of  all  denominations,  as  is  the 
American  Bible  Societ5^  And  in  reaching  the  German 
population,  I  had  sometimes  to  get  the  aid  of  their  minis- 
ters as  interpreters.  The  whole  business  was  arduous,  as  I 
usually  formed  a  society  each  week  day,  and  mostly  tray- 
eled  a  yery  muddy  road  in  the  beginning  of  the  winter, 
from  one  township  to  another,  in  a  new  country,  where, 
during  that  rainy  season,  the  streams  were  difficult  to  cross. 
But  God  gaye  me  strength  to  liye  by  eating  my  food 
chiefly  before  day  and  after  night.  And  I  had  the  satis- 
faction of  seeing  the  people  interested,  and  as  I  passed  their 
houses  of  leaying  a  tract  at  their  doors,  to  teach  them  the 
w^ay  of  salyation.  Many  as  yet  had  no  opportunity  to  hear 
the  gospel.  I  haye  eyer  found  tracts  in  my  pastoral  work 
great  helpers  in  doing  good.  Always  trying  to  adapt  them  to 
the  spiritual  condition  of  those  to  whom  they  were  giyen. 
On  finishing  the  agency  for  circulating  the  Bible  in  Jef- 
ferson county,  Ohio,  at  the  end  of  two  months,  haying 
formed  thirty-nine  societies  in  all,  I  determined  to  wait  for 
a  time  ;  though  I  had  encouragement  from  Proyidence 
and  persons.  Judge  Christmas,  the  brother  of  that  loyely 
young  minister,  Joseph  S.  Christmas,  had  offered  to  supply 
half  the  destitute  persons  in  Stark  county,  many  of  whom 
were  Germans.  In  Wayne  county,  for  want  of  money,  the 
people  were  encouraged  by  Gen.  Bell  and  Mr.  Stibbs  to 
bring  wheat  to  the  mill  and  haye  it  conyerted  into  flour,  to 
procure  Bibles  from  New  York. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  3  I 

On  leaving  Steubenville,  about  the  middle  of  February, 
1828,  I  stopped  at  Cross  Creek,  where  the  young  pastor. 
Rev.  John  Stockton,  was  witnessing  evidence  of  God's 
Spirit  moving  on  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  which  was 
evinced  to  me  as  I  preached  to  them.  Many  sat  bowed  in 
solemn  silence,  some  weeping,  and  some  staying  to  be  con- 
versed with,  where,  tAventy-six  years  before  (1802),  after 
the  congregation  had  been  dismissed,  their  fathers  or  moth- 
ers had  returned  into  the  house  for  religious  exercises,  and 
spent  chief  of  the  night  waiting  upon  God.  This  was  now 
the  beginning  of  the  great  revival,  which  lasted  several 
years,  in  Western  Pennsylvania. 

After  being  a  short  time  there  (where  I  was  baptized, 
and  where  are  the  graves  of  my  parents),  I  proceeded  to 
Washington,  from  whence  my  uncle.  Dr.  O.  Jennings,  ex- 
pected soon  to  remove  to  Nashville,  where  he  had  been 
called,  and  where  he  thought  the  climate  would,  under 
Providence,  afford  him  better  health. 

THE    REVIVAL    AT    WASHINGTON. 

But  God  had  some  work  during  the  six  weeks  that 
would  intervene  for  him  to  do.  He  appointed,  first,  as  a 
special  service,  a  Sabbath  morning  prayer-meeting,  at  sun- 
rise. A  few  dozen  persons  attended  it  and  became  deeply 
moved  with  anxiety  for  themselves  or  others.  The  evi- 
dences of  the  work  of  the  Spirit  became  so  manifest  that 
the  pastor  appointed  a  meeting  of  inquiry,  to  give  opportu- 
nity for  persons  to  be  conversed  with.  It  was  attended  by 
a  few,  and  each  Monday  evening  the  number  increased, 
with  more  interest  in  all  the  congregation  in  regard  to  the 
"  great  salvation."  When  the  first  of  April  came,  when 
my  uncle  was  to  remove,  about  twenty-five  persons  ex- 
pressed a  hope  of  regeneration.  As  I  had  taken  part  with 
him  during  the  previous  weeks  in  the  public  exercises,  the 
congregation  met  and  requested  me  to  supply  them  for  a 


132       RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

time.  Under  the  interesting  and  solemn  circumstances  in 
which  they  were,  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  accept  the  invitation ; 
though  I  had  no  idea  of  remaining  there  w^hen  I  w^ent  to 
visit  my  uncle's  family.  The  Lord  was  pleased  in  answer 
to  the  prayers  of  his  people  to  continue  the  work  of  grace, 
gradually  reviving  the  members  of  the  church,  and  in 
bringing  into  an  anxious  state  some  from  time  to  time,  so 
that  the  elders  with  myself  had  meetings  ol  inquiry  for 
eight  or  nine  months.  Some  of  the  students  of  the  college 
Avere  hopefully  brought  to  Christ,  with  some  of  the  profes- 
sional men  of  the  town.  The  state  of  things  gave  me  much 
ministerial  work,  visiting  the  people,  attending  meetings 
for  prayer  and  exhortation,  and  preaching  in  the  country 
in  daytime,  where  often  there  was  evidence  of  the  deepest 
seriousness,  some  sitting  and  weeping  after  public  service. 
Among  the  eighty  persons  brought  into  such  a  state  of 
mind  as  to  justify  their  reception  as  members  of  the  church 
at  "Washington,  there  w^ere  several  very  interesting  cases  of 
deep  conviction,  the  history  of  which  it  might  be  profitable 
to  relate,  but  it  would  require  such  particularity  as  might 
not  be  advisable.  It  was  made  manifest  to  members  of  the 
church  who  were  at  first  in  doubt  as  to  its  divine  origin, 
that  it  was  a  glorious  work  of  God.  The  subjects  lived 
exemplary  Christians  and  died  in  the  faith  of  the  gospel. 
Mr.  Moody  told  me  that  he,  during  the  long  period  of 
conviction,  endeavored  under  exhortation  to  give  himself 
"away,"  and  found  deliverance.  He  became  a  useftil 
minister  for  some  years  at  Ashland,  Ohio,  but  was  drowned 
in  the  river  at  Georgetown.  IVIr.  McCandless  served  the 
Lord  as  a  minister  in  Monroe  county,  Ohio,  and  passed 
away,  having  been  (as  he  also  told  me)  during  the  revival 
brought  to  believe  in  Christ.  Kev.  Dr.  Sloan  (he  that  be- 
came the  pastor  at  iVankfort  and  Pigeon  Creek)  attended 
our  inquiry  meetings,  and  others  who  were  students,  yet 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  33 

alive.  George  Gordon  became  a  minister  and  endured 
much  in  the  cause  of  anti-slavery.  His  sister,  a  subject  of 
the  revival,  became  the  wife  of  Rev.  Dr.  Eagleson,  the 
worthy  pastor  of  Buffalo  church,  called  from  earth  to 
heaven,  leaving  sons  to  fill  his  place  in  the  ministry. 
John  K.  Wilson  at  this  period  became  a  Christian,  and 
down  to  old  age  w^as  a  most  devoted  elder  in  the  church 
of  Leetsdale,  Pa.  Sophia  Huston  was  the  wife  of  Rev. 
John  Carothers,  and  Elizabeth  of  Rev.  Dr.  Benjamin 
Mitchell — Christian  women,  worthy  of  such  godly  men. 
But  time  would  fail  me  to  sjoeak  of  other  w^omen  not 
living  who  then  professed  to  be  disciples  of  Christ. 

God  was  pleased,  through  prayerful,  studied  remarks,  to 
reach  the  leader  of  a  baud  of  careless  students  in  the 
church,  who  afterwards  came  to  my  room  from  time  to 
time,  to  request  prayers.  People  generally  were  solemn 
and  thoughtful,  though  it  was  a  summer  precediug  a  Pres- 
idential electiou. 

Pious  women  joined  in  prayer,  and  did  so  alone,  for  the 
influence  of  the  Spirit.  Two  of  them  saw  their  children 
subsequently  enter  into  the  public  service  of  the  Lord. 
Mrs.  McGitfen's  daughter  Julia  went  as  a  missionary,  and 
the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hamilton,  to  the  Indians,  which 
was  then  a  special,  self-denying  work.  Mrs.  Wilson,  that 
most  remarkable  Christian  woman,  saw  her  sons  Thomas 
and  Samuel  become  eminent  ministers  of  the  gospel.  The 
former  was  not  spared  many  years.  The  latter,  recently 
deceased,  had  a  great  sphere  of  usefulness  in  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  and  has  been  greatly  lamented.  Pie 
was  worthy  of  all  the  honor  that  has  been  appended  to  his 
name,  and  the  writer  has  been  gratified  that  his  pious 
mother  made  his  name  that  of  her  devoted  son. 

SETTLEMENT. 

In   making  historical  statements  as   to  pastoral  labors, 


I  34      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

for  fifty  years,  it  is  impossible  to  avoid  reference  to  myself. 
Whatever  has  been  done,  I  hope  will  be  ascribed  to  the 
good  Providence  of  God  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  for  I  was 
often  weak  in  body  and  timid  in  spirit,  in  early  ministe- 
rial life.  In  the  summer  of  1828,  the  congregation,  now 
called  Sharon,  erected  a  brick  house  of  w^orship  below  the 
present  cemetery. 

In  February,  1829,  I  began  to  preach,  on  invitation, 
every  other  Lord's  day  in  private  houses,  in  connection 
with  my  services  as  editor  of  the  Christian  Herald,  now 
succeeded  by  our  worthy  Presbyterian  Banner. 

In  April  of  the  same  year  a  call  was  presented  to  the 
then  Presbytery  of  Ohio,  and  accepted  to  become  pastor 
for  one-half  the  time.  On  the  24th  day  of  June,  1829,  the 
Presbytery  met  in  the  new  church,  having  a  floor,  but  not 
plastered  nor  pewed.  On  that  bright,  shining  day,  after 
the  usual  preparatory  exercises  for  installation  and  ordina- 
tion, I  was  set  apart  to  the  office  of  pastor  of  this  congre- 
gation, in  the  presence  of  a  large  concourse  of  plain  but 
kind  peoj)le.  The  whole  exercises  were  solemn  and  im- 
pressive, so  much  so  that  Rev.  AYm.  Woods  was  overcome 
with  devotional  feelings,  offering  the  concluding  prayer. 
There  were  then  eighteen  persons  in  communion  with  the 
church. 

During  the  first  two  years  of  the  pastorate,  with  preach- 
ing half  the  time,  and  some  family  visitations  and  some 
distribution  of  tracts  (which  has  been  kept  for  fifty  years 
with  good  results),  there  were  added  to  the  little  church 
sixty-two  members  on  examination.  There  was  what 
might  be  designated  a  gradual  revival  of  religion ;  also, 
during  the  second  year  (1830),  people  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  now  Mt.  Pisgah  church  invited  the  pastor  of  Sharon 
church  to  preach  for  them  on  alternate  Sabbaths,  which 
being  done  resulted  in  the  erection  of  worship  on  Warrior's 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  35 

Ridge  and  the  organization  of  a  church  and  the  reception 
of  seventeen  persons  as  members  at  the  first  communion. 
During  successive  periods  the  membership  there  increased 
to  about  one  hundred. 

On  the  7th  of  June,  1831,  Miss  Emma,  the  daughter  of 
PhilijD  L.  and  Zelie  Passavant,  of  Zelienople,  Pa.,  was 
united  to  me  in  marriage.  We  have  been  spared  to  our 
six  children,  grown  to  years  of  maturity,  after  experiencing 
some  afflictions,  and  after  having  grounds  to  apprehend 
separations,  at  different  times,  by  disease  and  death. 

During  the  summer  of  1831,  my  only  brother  visited  us 
in  Allegheny  City,  declining  in  consumption,  after  having 
been  graduated  with  honor  at  Washington  College,  and 
after  having  been  admitted  to  practice  law  in  the  State  of 
Indiana.  He  had  had  high  expectations  of  wealth  and 
honor  by  his  profession,  but  in  the  meantime  had  brought 
on  pulmonary  affection,  by  sitting  up  too  many  nights  at- 
tending upon  the  sick  when  an  epidemic  prevailed. 
Though  not  at  this  time  borne  up  with  Christian  hope,  the 
sovereign  grace  of  God  convinced  him  of  sin  and  of  the 
need  of  a  new  heart,  after  he  came  to  make  his  home  with 
us,  during  the  autumn  after  our  marriage.  The  prayers 
of  a  father  and  mother,  that  were  offered  when  he  was  a 
child,  were  answered  after  he  had  weeks  of  special  convic- 
tion. God  in  his  great  mercy  gave  a  most  remarkable  de- 
liverance, and  caused  him  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord  Jesus, 
from  day  to  day,  and  to  feel  willing  to  go  to  any  part  of 
the  world  to  preach  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  This  was  not  to 
be.  On  the  22d  of  February,  being  27  years  of  age,  he 
peacefully  fell  asleep,  desiring  to  be  buried  beside  his  pa- 
rents' sleeping  dust  at  Cross  Creek. 

During  the  summer  of  1832,  feeling  unable  to  perform 
the  duties  of  a  minister  to  two  congregations,  and  of  editor, 
the  Weekly  Herald  was  relinquished  into  other  hands ;  but 


136      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

the  monthly  publication  of  the  Presbyterian  Preacher  was 
continued  for  five  years,  and  also  the  editing  of  two  other 
small  volumes.  Both  churches  gave  in  all  about  $300  as 
salary,  and  my  own  small  resources  being  locked  up,  and 
wishing  to  promote  female  education,  we  opened  a  Female 
Seminary,  in  1837,  near  the  city. 

Temperanceville  (near  which  I  resided),  grew  in  its  pop- 
ulation, and  gave  opportunity  for  evening  preaching.  As 
there  was  no  physician,  there  appeared  a  necessity  at  this 
time,  that  my  knowledge  of  the  healing  art  (that  I  had 
derived  chiefly  from  my  medical  kindred,)  should  be  ap- 
plied to  the  cure  of  the  sick  there  and  upon  Long  Island, 
and  often  elsewhere,  without  charging  regularly.  About 
twenty  years  I  was  constrained  to  yield  to  the  a])plic'atiun 
of  persons  who  needed  help,  having,  as  my  chief  compensa- 
tion the  satisfaction  of  purchasing  the  medicine  and  re- 
lieving suffering  humanity.  Being  a  cheap  doctor,  it  did 
not  require  boasting  to  get  practice,  to  my  physical  injury. 
Such  injury  was  received  by  being  thrown  from  a  horse, 
before  a  poor  man's  door,  that  it  will  be,  I  suppose,  as  my 
friend  and  physician.  Dr.  John  Dickson,  foresaw,  that  I 
shall  feel  the  eflfects  all  my  life.  This  mode  of  life  aflbrded 
an  opportunity  of  doing  good  to  some  people,  who  could 
not  have  been  reached  by  any  one  being  merely  a  minister. 
By  continued  labors,  a  separate  church  was  organized  at 
Temperanceville,  and  a  house  of  worship  was  erected  in 
1842. 

By  frequent  preachings  on  the  Island,  a  revival  occurred 
there,  which  greatly  increased  the  church,  and  a  regular 
organization  was  effected,  also  a  neat  house  of  worship  was 
erected.  The  religious  services  were  performed  there  in 
the  after  part  of  the  day,  after  being  at  Mt.  Pisgah  or 
Temperanceville.  Sometimes  the  river  was  so  high,  or 
running  with  ice,  that  the  possibility  of  leaving  the  horse's 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  37 

back  for  a  watery  grave  bad  to  be  contemplated.  Pre- 
viously, the  Presbytery  had  assigned  to  me  to  preach  in 
Sewickley  valley  as  missionary  ground.  It  appeared,  also, 
duty  to  preach  on  the  headwaters  of  Big  Saw  Mill  Run, 
which  prepared  the  way  for  the  organization  of  Concord 
church,  and  also  on  the  waters  of  Chartiers  creek,  which 
did  something  to  lay  the  foundation  for  a  Presbyterian 
church  in  that  vicinity,  now  called  Mansfield. 

There  were  five  places  on  the  Ohio  river  where  the 
writer  had  stated  preaching  at  certain  seasons,  at  each  of 
which  there  is  now  an  organized  Presbyterian  church,  viz.: 
Temperanceville,  McKee's  Rocks,  Long  Island,  Middle- 
town,  and  Shousetown.  Then  services  were  performed 
without  laying  the  hearers  under  any  pecuniary  obligation, 
before  their  organization.  At  Temperanceville,  long  and 
strenuous  efforts  were  made  by  heretical  sects,  and  espe- 
cially by  Mormons,  to  introduce  their  iniquities,  and  to 
some  extent  at  Middletown ;  so  that  it  appeared  necessary 
to  expose  these  systems  of  delusion,  to  prevent  the  ignorant 
from  being  led  astray.  Dealers  in  liquor  had  to  be  taught 
their  duty  and  interest  in  many  places.  My  labors  near 
the  river  were  performed  for  many  years,  by  which  I  did 
not  build  on  any  other  "  man  foundation." 

Having,  in  1846,  four  organized  congregations  under  my 
care,  and  other  preaching  places,  it  became  evident  that 
my  pastoral  charge  was  too  large.  Accordingly,  Mt.  Pis- 
gah  and  Temperanceville  called  me  to  be  pastor  all  the 
time,  jointly.  So,  also,  Sharon  congregation  and  Long 
Island,  all  the  time.  It  took  some  time  to  decide  to  break 
away  from  flocks  which  the  great  Shepherd  had  enabled 
me  to  gather.  But,  in  1847,  I  accepted  the  calls  from 
Sharon  and  the  Island. 

I  had  before  this,  for  nineteen  years,  come  to  preach  at 


I  2>^  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

Sharon  every  two  weeks,  through  all  kinds  of  weather,  and 
at  other  times,  as  duty  demanded.  On  the  first  Sabbath 
of  the  new  arrangement,  I  preached  on  the  words  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  "  I  must  work  the  works  of  him  that  sent  me 
while  it  is  day,  for  the  night  cometh  when  no  man  can 
work."  The  people  did  work.  In  that  summer  they  added 
to  the  dimensions  of  the  then  brick  church.  In  the  fall  a 
few  had  to  work  to  keep  out  Satan,  who  was  likely  to 
get  in,  on  the  score  of  difference  as  to  where  certain 
persons  should  sit  in  the  enlarged  house.  The  preach- 
ing of  my  brother-in-law  Passavant  was  blessed  to  stir 
up  a  spirit  of  revival  of  religion,  and  all  went  on  har- 
moniously. 

The  Long  Island  people  had  preaching  every  other  Sab- 
bath afternoon  in  the  summer,  in  the  winter  every  fifth 
Sabbath,  the  w^hole  day.  For  nine  and  a  half  years  this 
service  was  performed,  riding  seven  or  eight  miles.  The 
number  of  communicants  increased  from  one  to  sixty.  In- 
creasing years  and  difficulties  in  crossing  the  back  river, 
led  me  to  part  with  a  most  devoted  people  and  accept  the 
eall  to  the  Valley  church,  in  1857,  for  the  performance  of 
the  same  service  as  at  the  former  place.  This  new  sphere 
of  labor  w'as  attended  with  prosperity,  until  somewhat  in- 
terrupted by  the  attempt  of  another  people  to  claim  the 
use  of  the  house. 

In  my  preaching  at  the  Valley,  I  must  record  the  kind 
and  profitable  aid  I  occasionally  obtained  from  Rev.  Wm. 
P.  Harvison  and  Wm.  Alexander  Jeffery.  Both  were  of 
the  "excellent  of  the  earth,"  but  being  feeble  in  body,  did 
not  live  many  years. 

At  these  times  the  writer  was  giving  some  attention  to 
the  sick  as  a  physician,  and  for  many  years  this  and  his 
duties  as  pastor  led  him  to  ride  much  in  the  night. 

In  the  winter  of  1867  an  increased  awakening  occurred 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  39 

among  the  persons  out  of  the  church  and  a  revival  in  the 
hearts  of  some  Christians.  Solemnity  and  interest  was 
manifested  in  all  the  public  services,  and  the  pastor  was 
led  to  preach  forty  times  in  six  weeks,  and  had  some  aid 
from  other  brethren  in  the  ministry.  Prayer-meetings 
were  multiplied  for  the  next  two  years,  and  the  whole 
number  added  to  the  church  in  that  time  was  one  hundred 
and  eleven  persons. 

In  the  erection  of  a  new  church,  and  in  all  the  improve- 
ments requiring  time  and  money,  the  women  of  the  con- 
gregation exhibited  a  laudable  zeal.  The  congregation 
generally,  in  proportion  to  their  means,  have  contributed 
to  the  Boards  of  the  Church  and  other  objects  of  benevo- 
lence. 

The  pastor  has  not  complained  in  any  part  of  his  wide 
field  of  labor  during  these  fifty  years,  of  want  of  support, 
yet  felt  it  necessary,  from  time  to  time,  to  use  from  his  lim- 
ited resources,  in  all  about  seven  or  eight  thousand  dollars, 
to  supply  the  ordinary  wants  of  a  family.  This  he  pro- 
posed to  do,  rather  than  ask  aid  at  any  time  from  the 
Board  of  Home  Missions. 

During  the  last  nine  years  one  hundred  and  fifteen  per- 
sons have  been  added  to  the  church  on  examination,  four- 
teen on  the  last  Sabbath,  which  shows  that  the  Spirit  of 
God  has  not  forsaken  us,  though  there  is  much  to  humble 
us  for  our  deficiencies.  Though  this  congregation  num- 
bered more  communicants  than  ever  before,  yet,  by  the 
necessary  action  of  Presbytery,  about  forty  of  its  members 
have  been  organized  into  a  new  church,  to  be  called  Riv- 
erdale. 

RESULTS. 

There  have  been  baptized  at  Sharon  769  infants.  About 
750  have  been  received  as  members  on  examination,  and 
about  650  in   all   the  others   which  have  been  under  my 


1 40      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

care.  228  times  the  Lord's  Supper  has  been  administered 
in  Sharon  congregation.  About  5,200  sermons  preached 
and  as  many  in  my  other  churches.  One  each  week  was 
prepared  in  the  study  with  notes,  and  the  rest  on  horse- 
back or  without  notes.  About  480  funerals  have  been  at- 
tended in  the  congregations.  Some  of  them  not  of  our 
denomination.  Marriages  performed,  321.  Countless 
visitations  of  the  sick  as  a  pastor,  and  also  many  as  a 
physician. 

The  ordinary  number  of  Sabbath-schools  have  been 
maintained  ;  but  some  of  the  first  scholars  have  become 
grey-headed.  There  is  as  large  a  congregation  among  the 
dead  as  there  is  of  the  living.  There  were  but  three  per- 
sons put  into  their  graves  at  Sharon  when  I  became  pastor. 
Not  one  of  those  who  were  communicants,  who  sat  down 
with  me  at  the  Lord's  table  at  first,  now  lives  in  our 
bounds.  Not  a  minister  who  was  a  member  of  Presbytery 
at  my  ordination  now  lives.  Not  an  elder  of  any  of  its 
congregations  lives.  Of  the  minister's  who  favored  us  with 
preaching  here  during  these  fifty  years,  forty-two  have  en- 
tered into  the  saints'  everlasting  rest,  and  I  am  left  the 
oldest  pastor  of  the  Presbytery. 

At  the  conclusion  of  my  statements,  made  by  request,  at 
my  dismission  from  Sharon  church,  as  pastor,  on  the  24th 
of  June,  1879,  addresses  were  made  by  Eev.  Samuel  Jen- 
nings Wilson,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Dr.  Richard  Lea,  Rev.  W.  A. 
Passavant,  D.D.,  and  Hon.  Judge  Kirkpatrick,  which 
were  so  laudatory  of  myself,  and  though  sincerely  given,  I 
ought  not  to  incorporate  with  these  pages,  intended  to  keep 
in  remembrance  the  goodness  of  God  in  permitting  one  so 
feeble  as  I  was  to  live  so  long  and  accomplish  something 
as  his  instrument  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  mankind. 

The  congregation  gave  testimonials  of  their  regard  for 
me  as  their  pastor,  in  addition  to  the  gold  watch  and  chain 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      141 

presented  by  the  Presbytery,  presented  through  the  hands 
ofK.  Lea,  D.D. 

It  should  be  added  that  brethren  from  other  Presbyteries 
and  some  other  denominations  were  present,  numerously, 
to  show  their  interest  in  connection  with  my  resigning  the 
pastorate. 

OTHER    FACTS. 

I  wish  to  express  my  thanks  for  the  generous  profes- 
sional care  which  Dr.  John  Dickson,  of  Sewickley,  has 
taken  of  me  for  many  years,  and  for  his  advice,  when  I  had 
attempted  to  help  the  sick,  and  likewise  for  his  aid  in  past 
years  in  opposing  intemperance. 

Of  the  congregations  which  were  organized  by  my 
agency,  Mt.  Pisgah  has  none  of  its  original  members,  Tem- 
perauceville  not  more  than  two,  and  Long  Island  one. 
But  God  has  called  other  laborers  to  take  the  place  of  the 
original  members  that  have  gone  to  rest.  I  think  about 
seven  or  eight  hundred  of  my  special  acquaintances  have 
departed  this  life  during  my  time  of  being  in  the  ministry. 
Some  gave  in  death,  as  in  life,  great  ground  of  consolation. 
I  have  reason  to  believe  that  nearly  3,000  persons  whom  I 
have  known,  no  more  live  on  earth.  A  multitude  of  im- 
portant events  have  occurred  that  cannot  be  recited. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  became  divided,  in  1837,  into 
distinct  branches,  having  but  little  fellowship.  In  1870 
they  became  united,  having  seen  the  mistake  of  disunion, 
and  are  now  more  strongly  in  harmony  than  ever  before. 

In  1846  the  United  States  waged  war  with  Mexico, 
which  grew  out  of  the  annexation  of  Texas  to  the  former. 
In  1861  the  Northern  and  Western  States  were  constrained 
to  defend  the  Union  against  the  rebellious  proceedings  of 
the  Southern  States,  and  achieved  the  object  in  1865,  at  a 
great  loss  of  human  life.  But  this  suffering  brought  about 
the  deliverance  of  slaves  from  bondage,  and  their  restora- 


142     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTi^  YEARS. 

tion  to  the  rights  of  human  beings.  The  way,  too,  has 
been  opened  for  their  education,  and  the  opportunity  of 
hearing  the  gospel.  Christians  have  become,  during  these 
past  fifty  years,  more  united,  and  efforts  to  evangelize  the 
world  have  greatly  increased.     "  Praise  the  Lord  !" 

After  my  resignation  of  the  pastoral  charge,  I  acted  as 
stated  supply  for  nearly  two  years  for  the  Riverdale  con- 
gregation, which  I  organized,  by  the  order  of  Presbytery, 
out  of  Sharon  church.'  My  health  failing,  in  connection 
with  the  decease  of  my  sister,  on  the  10th  of  February, 
1881,  I  was  led,  in  company  with  my  son  Sidney,  to  make 
a  tour  to  the  East.  First,  to  Princeton  Seminary,  where 
we  both  received  our  theological  education.  There  we 
witnessed  the  close  of  the  session,  and  were  entertained  by 
Rev.  Dr.  McGill.  We  visited  the  graves  of  the  departed 
dead  who  had  been  Professors,  and  the  Presidents  of  the 
College,  among  whom  was  my  uncle  Carnahan.  Then  we 
spent  the  Sabbath  with  our  excellent  brother,  Rev.  John 
Ewing,  D.D.,  at  Clinton,  New  Jersey.  Afterwards  he  took 
us  to  Readington,  where  my  grandfather,  Dr.  Jacob  Jen- 
nings, had  practiced  medicine,  and  where  the  dust  of  his 
wife  Mary,  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Dr.  Kennedy,  reposes, 
having  died  in  1791.  We  also  went  to  see  the  resting- 
place  of  my  great-grandfather,  Jacob  Jennings,  at  Bound 
Brook.  He  died  at  the  age  of  76,  1787.  From  thence  we 
passed  on  into  the  city  of  New  York,  and  spent  a  few  days, 
chiefly  in  the  house  of  my  cousin,  James  Jennings  Mc- 
Combs,  and  in  the  company  of  his  lovely  family  —  not 
ruined  by  their  wealth,  but  using  it  to  accomplish  good 
objects. 

The  following  Sabbath  we  spent  at  Basking  Ridge,  New 
Jersey,  where  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rankin  is  the  beloved  pastor 
of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  much  respected  for  his 
services. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  43 

My  great-grandfather's  tomb  has  inscribed  upon  it — 
"Died  August  21,  A.  D.,  1787,  in  the  67th  year  of  his 
age."  It  is  recited  by  Dr.  Miller,  in  the  history  of  Dr. 
Rodgers,  that  he  could  talk  the  Latin  language  as  readily 
as  the  English.  His  wife  Sarah  died  January  1,  1787,  in 
the  64th  year  of  her  age.  Her  dust  reposes  beside  his  at 
Basking  Ridge,  where  they  both  toiled  and  experienced 
trouble  during  the  revolutionary  war  with  Great  Britain  ; 
where  he  preached  with  great  power,  and  to  which  employ- 
ment, when  necessary,  he  added  his  skill  in  the  healing 
art.  Thus  the  inscriptions  on  the  tomb  stones  testify  that 
my  three  grandparents  all  died  the  same  year — 1787 — 
leaving  a  bright  record  of  piety  to  be  remembered  by  their 
posterity. 

On  our  return  to  Pittsburgh  in  May,  1881,  I  had  been 
so  weakened  by  neuralgia  in  my  absence,  and  by  the  re- 
maining effects  of  my  severe  attack  of  illness  the  previous 
February,  that  I  did  not  attempt  to  preach  much  during 
the  summer;  but  with  autumn  I  did,  and  ever  since  have 
preached  more  or  less  in  moderate  weather,  accepting  in- 
vitations ;  which  with  my  frequent  attempts  to  write  for 
our  religious  papers  especially  in  the  temperance  reforma- 
tion, has  given  me  employment  up  to  the  present  time. 
The  desire  expressed  by  valued  brethren  to  do  this  has  led 
me  to  suppose,  that  what  I  did  in  that  way  was  not  alto- 
gether useless. 

Of  late  it  has  been  painful  to  me  that  I  could  not  accept 
all  the  invitations  to  preach,  or  to  see  old  friends.  One  of 
the  last  was  that  of  Rev.  Dr.  Beatty,  who,  not  long  before 
he  died,  expressed  a  desire  to  see  me,  and  I  hoped  some  time 
to  go  to  Steubenville ;  but  the  Lord  has  taken  him  from 
the  place  where  I  saw  the  Steubenville  Presbytery  organ- 
ized, in  1819,  and  not  one  of  the  then  members  now  lives. 

Feeling  that  I  should  have  done  more  to  benefit  dying 


144      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

multitudes,  during  the  sixty -seven  years  that  I  have  been 
a  member  of  the  Church,  or  the  fifty-seven  that  I  have 
been  a  licensed  minister,  I  am  willing  to  stay  and  try  to 
realize  and  believe  and  pray  and  teach  more  faithfully 
than  heretofore.     Though  it  cannot  now  now  be  long. 


CONCLUSION. 


For  my  dear  kindred,  beloved  friends  and  numerous 
acquaintances,  I  record  a  few  thoughts  on  this  my  eighty- 
first  birthday,  19th  of  February,  1884. 

Recollections  of  the  past  are  chiefly  useful  as  they 
have  a  bearing  on  the  future.  Mistakes  in  this  life  will 
be  found,  and  their  correction  in  this  life  will  be  of  some 
use  here  to  ourselves  and  to  others  in  this  world.  But  the 
chief  use  for  correction  is  that  they  will  affect  our  happi- 
ness in  immortal  life.  We  are  heirs  of  half  of  our  Fath- 
er's existence.  He  is  "  from  everlasting  to  everlasting." 
We  are  to  live  forever.  There  is  no  power,  if  there  were 
a  wish,  to  get  rid  of  the  inheritance.  Immortality  is 
stamped  on  the  soul  of  man,  whether  righteous  or  wick- 
ed.    See  Matt.  xxv.  46. 

If  temporal  things  are  so  used  that  they  help  us  to 
attain  things  that  are  eternal,  they  are  made  a  blessing. 
If  so  used  as  to  w^ean  the  soul  from  God,  then  they  become 
idols  and  a  curse. 

Natural  life  is  a  gift  by  the  "  Father  of  our  spirits,"  to 
be  introductory  into  a  "  house  not  made  with  hands,  eter- 
nal in  the  heavens."  If  it  is  not  passed  through  in  the 
right  way,  it  leads  down  to  eternal  death.  To  prevent 
this,    Jesus   says,    "I    am     the    way,  the    truth,  and  the 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS.      I  45 

life  "  (John  xiv.  6).  Submission  to  Him — looking  to  Jesus 
continually,  is  the  only  way  to  pass  through  this  world 
safely.  He  has  promised  "  the  Spirit  of  all  truth  to  guide 
into  all  truth  "  (John  xvi.  31)  all  necessary  truth.  Kely 
upon  him  as  the  infallible  teacher.  You  should  exercise 
your  reason  in  understanding  his  teachings,  but  never  to 
oppose  them.  As  soon  may  the  moon  say  it  will  give  light 
to  the  sun,  as  for  men  to  propose  to  correct  the  Scriptures. 
Believe  and  obey  now.  "If  any  man  do  his  will  he 
shall  know  of  the  doctrine  whether  it  be  of  God  "  (John 
vii.  17). 

Dear  ones,  by  light  shining  into  your  minds  you  shall 
see  more  of  yourselves  as  sinners.     You  will  thus  be  pre- 
pared to  appreciate  Christ  as  a  Saviour  "  who  hath  brought 
life  and  immortality  to  light  through  the  gospel  "  (2  Tim. 
i.  10).     You  must  be  willing  to  part  with  every  error,  with 
every  idol,  with  all  hope  through  morality  to  be  saved ; 
"  for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven,  given  among 
men,  whereby  w^e  must  be  saved"  (Acts  iv.  12).     Be  will- 
ing when  young  to  know^  the  worst  of  your  condition,  that 
one  sin  unrepented  of  will  bring  condemnation — "  that  he 
that  believeth  not  is  condemned  already  "  (John  iii.  18). 
If  he  or  she  dies  thus  they  forever  go  into  damnation.  May 
God  immediately  bring  any  one  yet  out  of  the  ark,  into  it, 
and  cause  every  one  to  prepare  for  the  awful  scene  de- 
scribed in  the  second  epistle  of  Peter,  third  chapter.     Live 
every  day  with  a  heart  which  believeth  unto  righteousness, 
and  you  will  be  useful  in  the  world  and  hail  with  joy  the 
coming  of  the  Lord,  first  at  death,  and  then  at  the  resur- 
rection and  general  judgment. 

Finally,  dear  ones,  now  especially  addressed,  let  me  ex- 
press the  fears  on  scriptural  grounds  that  there  are  millions 
who  have  come  short  of  eternal  life  through  the  same  un- 
belief and  delay  that  may  now  characterize  some  of  you. 


146      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEVENTY  YEARS. 

How  dreadful  to  realize  a  soul  forever  and  forever  sor- 
rowing in  the  dark  world  of  misery ;  that  it  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  forgiveness  through  the  atonement  of  Jesus,  and 
of  being  forever  with  hijn  in  the  world  of  glory,  but  came 
short,  through  unbelief,  of  being  a  sinner,  or  that  there  was 
yet  time  sufficient,  and  yet  in  this  state  died,  and  the  door 
of  mercy  was  forever  closed  ?  If  this  is  possible  in  your 
case,  may  the  Holy  Spirit  lead  you  to  submit  to-day  to 
God,  your  Saviour,  that  waits. 


INDEX 


Page 


Alien,  Moses         ..... 

12 

Alden,  Timothy           .... 

.      12 

Anderson,  John    ..... 

15 

Alexander,  James       .... 

.      85 

Alexander,  Archibald      .... 

99 

Anderson,  Abraham     .... 

.     108 

Anderson,  Dr.  (Associate  Church) 

108 

Author's  Education,  &c. 

.     120 

Arrival  of  Brother,           .... 

124 

Barr,  Thomas             .... 

11 

Barr,  Thomas  H.             .             .             .             . 

11 

Bracken,  Reid          .... 

12 

Boyd,  Abraham               .... 

12 

Baird,  Thomas  D.                 .             .             .             , 

15 

Bushnell,  Wells               .... 

16 

Baird,  Bobert            .... 

16 

Brown,  Matthew              . 

16,71 

Baird,  Thomas  H.     . 

21 

Brown,  Richard              .... 

22 

Books  and  Tracts,     .... 

55 

First  in  1772       .... 

55 

In  German, 

57 

In  French,           .... 

58 

Brown,  Alexander  B.            .             .             . 

73 

Beatty,  William  T 

91 

Beer,  Robert             .            \             .             .             . 

105 

Bailey,  Francis  G.         . 

106 

Black,  John             ..... 

111 

Bruce,  Dr.         ..... 

111 

147 


INDEX. 


Page. 

Bradstreet,  Stephen  I. 

.       123 

Berkshire  county,  visit  to 

127 

Courtney,  William 

11 

Coulter,  John 

12 

Culbertson,  James 

20 

Courts,  Supreme 

67,  70 

Comingo,  Henry  G. 

80 

Cook,  Isaac  M.            .            .            . 

82 

Carothers,  Eobert 

82 

Cross,  Jonathan 

82 

Cunningham,  J.  K. 

86 

Critchlow,  Benjamin  C. 

93 

Cuyler,  C.  C. 

96 

Churches,  Associate  and  Reformed,     . 

108 

Communion  of  saints. 

112 

Changes  ecclesiastical 

113 

Campbellism 

113 

Chidester's  removal  from 

122 

Cleveland,  state  of  things  in  1823 

122 

Crane,  J.  C 

42, 125 

Christmas,  Judge 

130 

Concluding  address. 

144 

Diseased  and  dying, 

7 

Dod,  Cephas, 

12 

Denny,  Harmar 

62 

Dunlap,  Robert 

80 

Donaldson,  Alexander  H, 

91 

Dickey,  John  M. 

98 

Dickson,  AVilliam 

106 

Deruelle,  Daniel 

34 

Elliott,  David 

72 

Elders  at  Washington, 

75 

Episode, 

81 

Ely,  Ezra  Stiles 

■  96 

Eaton,  Johnston 

34 

Female  influence. 

39 

In  tract  circulation,          •  • 

56 

Forbes,  Cochran 

91 

Falling  work. 

119 

Graham,  James 

4 

Grier,  Judge 

62 

148 

INDEX. 


Green,  Lewis  W. 

Green,  Ashbel 

Gibson,  William 

Graham,  John 

Hoge,  Thomas 

Herron,  Francis     . 

Hassinger,  Peter 

Halsey,  Dr.  Luther 

Hoge,  James 

Hanna,  Archibald 

Hallock,  Judge 

Hoge,  David 

Henry,  Thomas 

Howard,  William  D. 

Henderson,  Samuel  M. 

Hodge,  Charles 

Hampton,  Moses 

Halsey,  Luther,  Sr. 

Halsey,  Job  F. 

Hanna  T.  B. 

Indians,  efforts  among 

Irreverence  in  worship, 

Insubordination, 

Interesting  incident, 

Inquiry  meetings, 

Jennings,  Jacob 

Jennings,  Obadiah 

Johnston,  Robert 

Johnston,  William 

Johnson,  R.  M.,  favors  Sabbath  mails 

Jacobus,  M.  W. 

Jenner,  Dr. 

Jennings,  Ebenezer 

Kerr,  Joseph 

Kirkpatrick,  Judge     . 

Law,  Michael 

Little,  Jacob 

Liquor,  excuses  for 

Licensing  in  the  18th  century. 

Licensing  in  the  19th  century. 

Local  option, 

149 


INDEX. 


License  against  common  law 

Lincoln  University, 

Lea,  Richard 

Marquis,  Thomas 

Munson,  John       "  • 

McMillan,  John 

Macurdy,  Elisha 

Ministers  of  low  stature. 

Morrow,  James  B. 

Missions,  Choctaw  Indians, 
Other  Indians, 
In  Africa,  India,  and  Chin 
In  Siam  and  Japan, 

Martyred  missionaries, 

Maclean,  David 

Mistakes,  six  great 

McKennan,  James  W. 

Miller,  Samuel,  his  experience, 

McKinney,  David 

Marshall,  George 

McCluskey,  John 

Macmaster,  A.  S. 

McCalla,  William  L. 

Miller,  Samuel,  D.D. 

McKennan,  Thos.  McL.     . 

Mason,  J.  M. 

McMillan,  W. 

Nesbit,  William 

Neill,  William       . 

Ohio  Synod,  history  of 

Patterson,  Robert 

Potter,  Lyman 

Patterson,  Joseph 

Preaching  of  the  fathers, 

Papers,  religious,  up  to  '33, 

Porter,  Charles 

Parliament  restricted  license, 

Penn,  William,  against  liquor, 

Patriots  against  ardent  spirits, 

Plumer,  William  S.     . 

Patterson,  James 

150 


INDEX. 


Potter,  John    . 
Pressley,  J.  T.  . 

Pines,  preached  first  in 
Passavant,  W.  A. 
Ralston,  Samuel 
Revivals  from  1821  to  1828, 
"      1824  to  1832, 
Reynolds,  John 
Rush,  Dr.  Benjamin     . 
Reed,  Robert  R. 
Ramsey,  William 
Ramsey,  Dr.  James 
Rodgers,  James 
Rankin,  James 
Reformed,  Associate 
Revival  at  Cross  Creek,     • 
"         "  Washington, 
Its  subjects, 
Slaves  driven, 
Synod  of  Pittsburgh, 
Seward,  John 
Speer,  William 
Stockton,  Joseph 
Swift,  Elisha  P. 
Scott,  George  M. 
Synod  of  1829,  members  present 
Scott,  James 

Synod  of  Ohio  of  1830,  the  remnant, 
Snowden,  John  M. 
Sumptuary  law^ 
Smith,  AVilliam 
Scott,  John  W. 
Skinner,  Thomas  H.     • 
Saratoga  Springs, 

Seminary,  West.  Theo.,  advocated  by  O. 
Stockton,  John 

Toil,  early        .... 
Tait,  Samuel 
Treat,  Joseph 
Torrance,  Adam     . 
Tombs  of  Professors, 

151 


Jen 


niDffs 


Pagk. 

106 

112 

127 

138, 140 

15 

36 

37 

62 

66 

74 

96 

108 

109 

110 

111 

131 

131 

131 

7 

10 

10 

12 

12 

15,79 

14 

15,16 

19 

21 

62 

70 

84 

86 

97 

124 

126 

88 

6 

10,15 

11 

90 

101 


INDEX. 


Page. 

War  of  1812,          .             .             . 

5 

Wylie,  William 

10 

Woods,  William 

15 

Wright,  John 

19 

AVine  in  the  Lord's  Supper, 

20 

Worship,  irreverence  for 

60 

AVilliams ,  Aaron 

80 

Wilson,  James  P.        . 

95 

Wilson,  James      .... 

107 

Wilson,  J.  R  (Covenanter)     . 

111 

Williamson,  Dr.  (missionary) 

122 

Whiting,  George  B.  (missionary) 

129 

Work  for  Bible  Society,     . 

129 

Wilson,  S.J. 

.     133,     140 

Women,  Pious 

133 

152 

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